A finish and a new toy

I finished up Mary Garry's Peace sampler last week though I still need to put initials in the lower right hand corner.  I think I will stitch the initials over one and include mine, the husband's and the 2 kids.

Mary Garry Peace Sampler

Weeks 30 count Cappuccino linen

GA Weathered Barn

design size 6 1/2 by 7 1/2

The past few days I have been pretty tired from working odd hours and busy with the miscellaneous tasks of living but I do have some ornaments started.  Just need some wide awake time to stitch!

I also have been distracted by my new toy!  I have been wanting an e-reader and when I was able to get a great deal on this Pandigital reader from Kohl's, I decided to try it.  My employee discount allows me to stack my discounts and with a rebate I just couldn't pass on it.  And no hassle returns folks!  If I decide I don't like it, back it goes!

I do like it though, but I haven't tried any other e-readers.  The screen is a bit too gray in dim light but works great with bright light.  It has wireless but I would never use it for the internet unless absolutely necessary.  I have downloaded 3 library books so far and it's a piece of cake.  I haven't purchased any books yet and that wasn't my goal anyway.  I love that I can "go to the library" and get them for free!  You do have to put books on a waiting list most times but that's OK.  Just download the books to Adobe Digital Editions, plug in the reader and transfer the book!

I am presently reading Cakewalk: A Memoir by Kate Moses and I finished The Kids Are All Right by Diana Welch (no, not the movie but same title).  These are both autobiographical.  I seem to be attracted to books about dysfunctional families (are all families a little bit nuts?).  It must be because of my quest to figure out my own family and trying to reconcile some of the crazy stuff that happened growing up.  It makes me feel better to know that I was not alone in my suffering, that there were other angry fathers out there and baffled overworked mothers.  By the time I was 12 years old I had lived in 5 different states and at least 6 different houses.  Moving around was not a good thing for a shy little girl like me and I don't think it was good for any of the 6 children!

Off to the bank...I think DD overdrafted her debit account.  As all moms of teenagers know, making the mistake is the best way to learn.  Sometimes we think they know how to manage things and then we find out somehow it went right over their heads when we told them how to do it.

I love fall when it's not raining

It's a dreary rainy day here in Ohio and I'm feeling a little blue.  Made a mistake that may affect some customers and I always take those mistakes so seriously.  It's just that the mistakes were so stupid and unnecessary!  It isn't brain surgery, but still...

I haven't even felt like stitching for the past couple of days and I was on such a roll and excited about doing some quick Christmas gifts.  Hopefully by tomorrow I will come around and be the happy self I was a few days ago.

Thanks to everyone who offered me bits of the burnt orange thread I was looking for.  I appreciate it so much!  Lee, who was in town for a day, brought what she had and it was just right.  Thanks again Lee!

This is a little Mary Garry sampler I started this past summer.  The fabric is Weeks Cappuccino, thread is GA weathered barn.  

I love the color of this fabric, but not so crazy about the feel of it.  It is very soft and my stitches don't look nice and neat.  I had forgotten to start at a vertical thread and it was kind of bugging me, but I stitched up a bit to the side starting on the vertical and it didn't seem to make any difference.

There are some other Mary Garry charts I'd like to get my hands on but man, the prices on EBAY are ridiculous.  I did pick up a couple at very reasonable price, but they are not my favorites.

As some of you know, I work retail.  No, it wasn't my chosen career or a calling, it just happened.  At this time of year, it is retail hell.  I am constantly amazed by to what lengths people will go to save a buck and how little control some people have over their finances.  And in this sour economy, businesses have decided that they can make do with fewer employees, especially full time employees.  That means everyone gets very overworked and stressed, and when you think you can't do one more thing, they add on even more responsibilities.  I'm not talking about my own responsibilities necessarily, but when higher ups are stressed, it all trickles down to the rest of us.

So much for economic recovery and hiring more employees.  Big business has found they can just "make do."