Finally...

I am in my new apartment.  I have busy unpacking and that is why I haven't written anything lately.  But now that I have taken a breather, I decided I better update you all with the latest news.

I haven't stitched much this past week due to me moving but the sad part  of me moving was I had to leave most of my cross stitch stash behind.  Also a lot of my books.  I just didn't have the room for it all even though I am in a 2 bedroom apartment.  I did get to bring a few kits along but most of my challenge projects were left behind.  So now I will just work on the ones I have started and try and finish them this year and forget the challenge.

My animals did make it over although I was wondering about Midnight.  Sunday the 22nd when I was all moved in and brought the animals over, Midnight decided to hide.  I couldn't find him anywhere in the house.  So we brought over Kiddo(my chihuahua) and Shadow( my other black cat) both of them in cages.  I left them in the cages while we went back to the house to see if Midnight came out of hiding.  He still wasn't to be found so we waited a little bit.  Finally, he came out of hiding and I put him in his cage and brought him over to the apartment.  Then I let all 3 animals out of their cages.  Midnight ran and hid under the couch and didn't come out for 24 hours.  Shadow snooped around and settled right in and Kiddo did the same although Kiddo did follow me around everywhere.

I left most of my furniture at the house including my king size bed which made me very upset.  My son wouldn't move the bed for me and I couldn't move it by myself.  So it stayed.  So I have been sleeping on the couch this past week until I can get a bed.  I also left my washer and dryer at the house but I don't think we would have been able to get them up the 3 flights of stairs that we have to go up.  It was hard enough to get the couch up them as well as all the boxes.
I had the cable hooked up and my TV decided to stop working.  So I am renting to own a TV and a washer and dryer.  I need to get a Hi-Def DVR for the TV so I am watching DVD's because I got a combo TV/DVD.  Turns out, my old TV works but it was the DVR that was bad.  So I am going to keep both TV's and move one into my bedroom where I can watch TV and DVD's since it is also a combo one.

There is a lot about apartment life that I have forgotten about.  It's been close to 38 years since I have lived in an apartment.  They had to replace the microwave because the one that was here didn't work.  It was so nice that I didn't have to buy a new one because the old one didn't work.  I like the idea if something goes wrong, I just go to the office and tell them about it and they put in a work order and it gets fixed. 

Well, that's all I can think of to tell you all.  I hope the next time I will have some pictures of my stitching to post or maybe my new apartment, who knows.  Until next time, God Bless.

Still here

Here I am.  I know I haven't posted for a few days but as you know, I've been busy.  I am almost finished packing.  I was hoping to move some things over today buy Jennifer(my DIL) had her car in the shop and didn't have an extra car.  My granddaughter's car is also in the shop because she had an accident with it and Joey (my son) is still out of town.  He is suppose to be back tomorrow night. 

I didn't start the Praying Hands like I wanted to because the floss is various shades of flesh.  They were just too close to figure out which was which. So I put it away and started another project.  It one of a bear. You can see it above.  I have made the same mistake about 3 or 4 times but I finally got it right.  Also, my progress on Santa and the Animals stocking is shown up above.  Doesn't look like much for a week's working on it but then I didn't get to stitch that much because I was busy packing.  But after I am in my apartment, I plan on stitching all day Saturday.  I will also set up my apartment but I am going to relax from all the hard work I have been doing.

I am also going to start using the equipment in the workout room that is at the complex.  When it is warmer, I will swim laps in the pool there.  I am really looking forward to getting into shape and losing some weight.I am excited about starting basically a new life.  It has been 7 years since my husband passed away and I really think he approves of the changes I have made in my life. 

My new boyfriend will be coming to see me at the end of February.  He works and lives in France.  We will be meeting for the first time.  I can hardly wait to see and meet him.  Like I said, I am beginning a new life.

Well, that's all I can think of writing right now, so I guess I will close.  Until the next time...God Bless.

Almost finished

I'm sure you all are getting tired of reading about my moving.  But I am almost finished packing. I have a little bit in each room left to pack.  Today, I worked on packing part of the kitchen and my Angel collection. 

Tomorrow I get to pick up my keys to the apartment.  I want to take the dishes and bowls I packed today, unpack them and put them in the cupboard and bring back the boxes.  I would rather be the one moving the dishes because if anything happened to them, I would prefer it be me and not any one else to blame.

I have called the electric company and they turned the electricity on today.  I also set the 20th for it to be turned off here at the house.  I also called the water department that I use and scheduled the water to be turned off on the 20th.  All I need to get set up at the apartment is water and cable.  As soon as I get the deposit for the water, I can have it turned on.  I also have to get my animals their shots before I can take them over there.

On the stitching front, I have been working on my Santa and Animals stocking during breaks from packing.  I have had to frog twice already because I had used the wrong color in two places.Other than that, I am enjoying working on it.  I plan on starting the Praying Hands next week.  Instead of starting a different project for each day for 15 days, I plan on starting a new one for 15 weeks.  That way I don't have to put it down after just a few stitches.  Since I have 3 already started, I am counting them as 3 weeks even though it hasn't been 3 weeks yet.

Well, I can't think of anything else to talk about so until next time, God Bless.

Misc.

Sorry for not posting on the weekend but I was still busy packing up my computer/craft room.  On Sunday, I took it a little bit easier and didn't pack that much.  Today, I figured out which room I am going to pack tomorrow and what will be going with me.  Yesterday, I took out a lot of stuff for trash.  I had taken out an old sewing machine cabinet and during the night somebody took it.  I didn't mind, it wasn't good enough for Good will and I wasn't going to take it with me because I wouldn't have had the room for it.  I sure the garbage men kept the old non-working stereo that I had put out there.  I know they kept the old clock radio because I saw one of them with it.

Today, I signed the lease for the apartment.  We put down as the move in date as Friday Jan. 13th.  That gives me the rest of the week to pack and all next week to move stuff in.  I need to get the electric turned on as well as the water.  I will wait with the cable and Internet until I am in the apartment.  So there will be a few days where I won't be online.  I am also going to get digital phone from the cable company.  My pets have been classified as service animals so I get to keep all 3 of them.  They are my kids and I wouldn't have been able to decide which one was to go.

On Sunday, I started my 3rd start for the year.  It is a Christmas stocking with Santa and several animals which you can see above.  I also worked on it today and I am really enjoying it.  My 4th start will be the Praying Hands which is also above.  I will start it in the next couple of days.  I still have to prepare it so I can work on it.  Don't know what my 5th start will be as I have them in a big box and draw 1 out to see which will be next.

Well, I can't think of anything else to write about so I guess I will close.  Until next time, God Bless.

The last 2 days

I am sorry that I didn't post yesterday but I was so tired from packing that I couldn't keep my eyes open.  I went to bed early.

We closed on the house this morning so I offically have no house...it's not mine anymore.  Now to get everything out of it in 2 weeks.  After I got home this morning after the closing, I changed clothes and got busy packing again.  That is all I've done today.  I was able to move my one chest of drawers out of my computer/craft room.  I sure wish I would have had another person helping me move it.  But I managed.  Tomorrow I plan on finishing the computer/craft room except for some hard cover pattern books.  I need smaller boxes with handles for them so the boxes won't be so heavy.  I will move my other chest of drawers out tomorrow.  This one will be easier to move so I shouldn't have any problem.

I decided to quit for the day and get an early start tomorrow.  I am going to take a shower to get the grime off of me, get comfortable and get ready to stitch some.  Hopefully, I can put in more stitches than just a couple.  I know, every stitch is a stitch closer to being done.  I am working on the Dear Lord one.  When I have a bit more done on it, I will post a picture here.

After I finish stitching for the night, I want to try and finish the book that I am reading at the moment.  It's The Help and I have enjoyed it immensely.  Now I want to see the movie and see if it's as good as the book.  I don't know what I will be reading next....I really don't have time to read right now.  But I am going to try and work it into my routine for the next couple of weeks.

With the money that I got from my share of the sale of the house, my rent is paid up until September and the deposit is paid.  I am going to sign the lease on Monday and I will start moving things in on Friday.  That's the day that I picked for the lease to begin.

Well, that's all for right now.  Let me go take a shower and then stitch. I don't want to think about packing or moving right now.  Talk to you all later.  Until next time, God bless.

Packing

Well, today, I put a partial deposit on my apartment so they will hold it until I can sign the lease.  Then I came home and started packing.  I tell you, it's hard to pack with cats in the house.  I no sooner get an empty box inside, there is a cat in it.  So I get another box so I can at least pack, then the other cat gets in it.  I can't win for losing...at least with the cats.  My dog, Kiddo, stays in bed under the covers because it is cold here right now.  So cold that I am wearing a sweatshirt while I am packing.  At least, the movement will help keep me warm.

Anyway back to the packing. I have packed 2 medium boxes of leaflets and magazines  as well as several magazine holders of my stash.  And I still have quite a bit to go.  I never realized that I had that much stash until I started packing it.  When I am settled, I will have to go through it and maybe get rid of some of it....the charts that I will never stitch.  I've tried this before and I never got rid of any because I just might need that chart later.  I guess I will start with the duplicates that I have of some of the charts and magazines.

Then I also have some of my mother's stuff still here.  I also have to go through it so I can get some boxes.  I am low on boxes right now.  I have several old Good Housekeeping magazines that I need to just throw out.  I don't have the time to go through them to see if there is any cross stitch patterns in them or any other craft I might do.  It kills me to just throw them  away but if I have to, I have to.  The same with all her fabric she saved for quilts.  I just don't have the room to keep it.  I know I could use the fabric for finishing ornaments and such.  I will have to see about the fabric...maybe I will be able to keep some of it.

Besides my stash my main stuff that I have packed are all my books.  Plus I have 3 or 4 boxes of books that I want to take to the library.  These are books that I have read, bought duplicates of, (I don't just buy duplicates in charts) and books that I will never read.  I know the library will be happy to get them as most of them are best sellers and recent published books.  Even if they put them out at their yearly book sale, someone will get use out of them.

Well, I better get back to packing.  There still is quite a bit to do yet and I need to get more boxes.  So until next time, God bless and I will see you soon.

Won't Be Stitching Much

My son found a buyer for my house and they will close on Friday this week.  I then have 2 weeks to move everything out of the house and into my apartment.  So I won't be getting much stitching done for the next 2 weeks.
I will be packing all day tomorrow and every day after that.  Besides, most of my stash is already packed.  I just kept out a few kits so I could start the challenge.  So if I stitch tonight, it will be on one of the 2 that I have already started because the rest will go back into their packed box.

I am really excited about moving into an apartment.  I won't have to worry about anything if it goes wrong.  The landlord will have to take care of it...that's the main reason I am moving.  I just couldn't do the upkeep of the house anymore.  I am moving from a 3 bedroom house down to a 2 bedroom apartment.  So I will have to get rid of a lot of stuff while I am packing.

 I will try to post some more about my move tomorrow.  As I want to get in a few stitches tonight while I can.  Talk to you all tomorrow.

My January Crazy Challenges

I started on my January Crazy Clallenge on the 1st with a project called Dear Lord.  It is the poem of  'So far today...'  It has the poem and teddy bears on it.

The 2nd one I will start today.  It's called And the Two Shall Become One.  It is a marriage sampler.

I also wanted to show you the last finish I had for 2011.  It's called Love Spoken Here.

I will be taking a break from packing today to start stitching on And the Two Shall Become One.  I really wish I was finished packing because I am getting so tired of it.  Hopefully, the people who looked at the house last week will be buying it.  I hope and pray that they will as well as crossing my fingers.  I really want to get into my new apartment and out of this house.

While I have been packing my stash, I have found several projects that I had forgotten that I had started or bought.  It was like Christmas when I found them and looked through them.  I have inclueded them into my Crazy January Challenge so hopefully, I will get them finished this year.  I still have some stash to pack and that will be what I do today.

That's about it for now.  I hope the next update will be tomorrow January 3 when I show my 3rd start of the year which will be a suprise to me also.  I just reach into my box of kits and pull one out each day.  Until tomorrow, God Bless you.

My First Blog Entry

This is my first blog entry.  I never thought I would have a blog but decided to give in and make one.  I will probably have questions for the rest of you on how to do things. 

I decided to make a blog because I needed a place to post my pictures of my stitching.  Webshots is now charging me to post pictures and I don't feel like paying.  So I decided to be like others and blog.  It will also help me with my writing as I tell you what is going on in my life.  So the beginning of January sounded like a good time to start blogging.

So welcome to my first blog post.  I plan on updating every day.