Shopping by cell phone...

Of course I had to work today, there was a pretty nice auction happening. I convinced David it would be a good idea for him to go early to the auction and check out some of the things I thought I might like. So he went and sent me pictures! I couldn't wait to get out of the office. By the time I got there, the fun was almost over but I still scored a few goodies like:

A couple of cutter chenille bedspreads.



Two cutter table clothes with pretty colors.



A pretty square blue glass bowl and a pair of candle holders. I haven't decided yet how I feel about the candle holders. I really just wanted the bowl but I wound up with lots of unnecessary bits and bobs. David calls that stuff "yard sale fodder".



My impulse purchase of two sweet Frozen Charlotte dolls. I love them! They're my first ones and I'm thrilled. One has such a worried look on her face and the other is more "WHAT-ever". I hadn't seen them during my initial peek-through; it was strictly lucky timing as I was passing the table when they came up. Took them both home for $5! (Although after looking at the pictures, they're more "Dirty Charlottes" than "Frozen Charlottes")



And then my beauty! A three-tiered sweets stand with a fabulous Chintz pattern. yum. LOVE IT! This was another if-you-want-this-you-have-to-buy-a-bunch-o-crap-to-get-it purchase. Yep, "yard sale fodder" part II.





We also brought home a beautiful vintage etched mirror and a treadle Singer sewing machine. I mentioned last night that I thought I should get a treadle machine so that in case some Apocalyptic event occurred, we could still be clothed (no doubt using all my chenille and tablecloth fabrics!) and here David grabs this all by himself! I hope it works!

It's been a long day. I'm sleeping in a little tomorrow...See ya!

~Beth

Stitching Smiles...

Well, I haven't caught up as much as I would like. It's been busy at work so I'm getting home late and not wanting to stitch when it's dark. But I did manage a few more squares and have several planned out.

Here's what's done so far...

Smile 4: Give me a thunderstorm any night!



Smile 5: Piggy-tails! Especially if they're attached to chubby little cheeks that are skipping down the street.



Smile 6: Sweet little Ladybug



Smile 7: Our Forsythia Bush...each Spring it promises to burst forth with a torrent of golden beauty and each Spring there's nothing more than a misty drizzle of...bud. It mocks me...



Let's see if I can get on track next week. I have a couple of days off since Lucky Jaina gets to have all four of her wisdom teeth out. woo-woo...

~Beth

I'm stiching along...

but I'm still behind. When I saw Amy's post about stitching a square a day, I thought "What a great idea! I should do it!" and then I thought "Gee, I can't do that." I filled up with self-doubt. So I thought on it for a week and decided to just jump in. Jaina thought I should do 48 squares because well, there wasn't enough creative pressure at 39 squares.

I'm calling my sampler Worth A Smile. 48 snippets of things that make me smile. That seems manageable. So here's my first 3 squares...

Smile 1: Heart of my heart- (that's for 22 years of smiles from my favorite daughter)




Smile 2: Nest with 3 pretty blue eggs




Smile 3: A bit of vintage tatting embellished with a few glass beads




I've learned a few things from this project so far...
1. Free spiriting scares me!(I'm paper-trained. I need patterns.)
2. I'm waaaay slower than I thought I would be.
3. My eyesight just ain't what it used to be therefore see #2.
4. These things really do make me smile!
5. I'm having fun!




I'm hoping I can really catch up Friday when I have a half day off from work. And more daylight. I can really use the extra smiles...

~Beth

I miss the BIG bathroom...

Got home last Sunday. That room at the Bellagio was impressive. I think that may be the first 5-star room I've stayed in. I liked it. I liked it a lot. I should get to like it more often. Yes, I think I shall...

I miss the BIG bathroom. The pretty sink:


The yummy I-could-stay-in-here-forever shower:


The deepest soaking tub ever:


Then the beds*sigh*:


The wardrobe complete with robes and slippers!


The view. I like mountains. We don't have mountains in Iowa...unless you count Mt. Trashmore at the city dump. I don't:


Lori and I ate at several places and everything was so good but my favorites have to be our breakfast food. And I don't even like to eat breakfast! The first morning I had a Berry Crepe with whipped creme and fresh mint. Mmmmmmmm...I could go for that right now:



And the last morning I had an Almond Brioche and a cup of fresh orange juice. Maybe I want this one right now:


We went to Cirque Du Soleil's KA. Amazing. Breath-taking. And just for fun we hit CSI: The Experience. (I got a free T-shirt there!). And some shopping at the Outlet Mall. One night we stayed up until 1:00 A.M...Lori and I live large, you know. Party-girls are we...stop giggling, Jaina.

I had fun but I was glad to see my peeps again. It's nice to have someone to miss you when you're gone...

~Beth

VEGAS, BABY...

I'm headed to VEGAS, BABY for a few days with my buddy Lori. We went together a few years ago. Lori won $13. I lost $3. You can tell we live large. So, I'm thinking I'll be hitting it big this time around...or else beginning my new career as a Black Jack dealer...

See ya!

~Beth

New Haircut(s)...

About two weeks ago we found out our fuzzy boy Yuri needed surgery. Actually 2 surgeries. His parathyroid was causing his calcium levels to be off the chart and because of the increased calcium levels, he also has many, many bladder stones...again. This was very disturbing news. Yuri will be 14 this year. And the surgery was VERY expensive. We had lots of questions...Will he even survive the surgery? How long will it take for him to recuperate? Do we put him through this? How do we pay for it?? Should we even spend this much on a dog? Well, after a lot of family soul searching, we thought it all came down to quality of life and once we substituted the word "friend" for the word "dog", the answer came a little easier...we'd go ahead.

Oh, it was a such scary day. The surgery took a while and we were worried but finally the phone call...He's doing well! Surgery was on a Thursday and the Doctor thought we might be able to bring him home on Sunday afternoon. But there would be a need for daily testing to check his calcium levels. Still, in for a penny, in for a pound. Apparently, he became "vocal" after his surgery. (He IS kind of dramatic. Once our vet was going to draw blood and he howled on and on for 10 mins. The tech came out and said "Just so you know, we're not hurting him. In fact, we haven't even started yet." That's just what Huskies do.) They had to sedate him a bit and he found his "happy place".

Saturday morning the vets called. Yuri could come home already! YAY! (They were probably tired of his howling!) So while the people went to get the Puppy-Boy, others stayed home and waited. And watched.


I was surprised. He looked so good! I expected, well, something less than good. He couldn't wait to get out. Straight out the door; never looked back. And he wasn't exactly thrilled with the "cone of shame". ( No pictures. Too embarrassing.)

But he did have a new haircut...a fuzz-less tummy:



And an even less fuzzy throat. (warning: stitches involved in this one):




He was a little subdued but resting comfortably. Sweet boy:




Oh, life is so good when you're on the mend and feeling better and back with the family who missed you.



Do we love you, Fuzzface ??




yep...

~Beth

50 Things...

So I was reading along today (Ok, it was Dear Abby)and there was a letter printed about a woman turning 50 but couldn't bear to BE 50 and decided to STAY 49. While most of the response letters were predictable: Be satisfied you're alive, Live life to the fullest, Be happy, yadayadayada...one letter had the BESTEST idea! Make a list of 50 things you've wanted to do or haven't done in a while and do them at 50. What a wonderful way to look forward. To embrace. To enjoy.

So because I'm close enough to "sneeze on 50", I decided to give it a try. I'm making the list...I've got 6...

I never have been able to act my age...



Here's to the fun of it...
~Beth