A knitting finish, a new sampler and my mom

Let me see, let me see...  How could I possibly choose which show to watch?  For those of you that love trash TV for the absolute mindless stupid but very entertaining drivel, the choices on Thursday evening were...

American Idol
Real Housewives of Orange County
Real Housewives of New York City
Project Runway
The Marriage Ref

After talking with my complicated 21 year old DS on the phone last night, I needed as much mindless drivel as I could get.

I missed Idol but watched Marriage Ref and it was fun.  The other shows can wait because they are rerun many times during the week.  Marriage Ref was cute.  Little slices of married life.  Can't understand the woman who thought it was OK to floss her teeth while in bed with her hubby.  Gross!

I finished this and gifted it to a co-worker.  I told her to please not examine it too closely.  Stitching the pieces together can make or break a knitted garment.  I don't think it was too bad, but I wouldn't win any prizes for it at the county fair.

 

I don't need to spend any time deciding what to work on next because I am going to start stitching this cute sampler.  

 

The chart came by way of Teresa and organized by Melissa.  There are 22 stitchers scheduled to stitch this one.  I really like these traveling charts.  Hope that border doesn't make me crazy!  

 

I have just one more thing to blog about.  My mom, who is 86 years old and has osteoporosis, broke 2 ribs last week and doesn't know how she did it.  This is how brittle her bones are now.  Scary.  Her own mother was crippled by it and spent her later years in a wheelchair or in bed.  I know this prospect frightens my mother.  I myself am very aware of the disease and have been having bone scans on a regular basis.  Right now I am just taking lots of vitamins and calcium and trying to exercise regularly (I am bad about this).  I was on Fosamax for a while but quit taking it because I am concerned about the side effects.  I need to be vigilant about my health when it comes to this and am going to be looking for a good doc to help me with this.  

Mom continues to live at home with my sister, but I don't know how much longer this will work since my sister works many hours.  I fear more broken bones.  It will be a difficult future, I am sure.

Thanks for stopping by!  If you have any osteoporosis stories, I sure would love to hear them.

a little knitting, a little stitching

I am one sorry excuse for a blogger!  That's why I have the "blogging without obligation" gadget LOL.

I've been knitting!  I'm making an baby sweater for one of my managers at work who is due very soon.  I'm pretty sure she will appreciate something handmade since she majored in fashion design in college.  Everytime I knit a sweater I swear I'll never do it again and then proceed to try just one more time.  At least with a baby sweater fit is not so important.  There will be a lot of sewing to do though, something I am not crazy about.  I still need to finish the left front, the sleeves and the neckband.

I also stitched up this Prairie Schooler santa and I'm not sure how I want to finish it yet.  It's stitched on 18 count Floba, a fabric I really like to use for Prairie Schooler designs.  It's got a simple homespun quality about it. 

We've had our fair share of small triumphs and setbacks here in our little household lately.  DS seems to be buckling down (fingers crossed) and working hard at school.  I'm finding that an art major can spend quite a bit on supplies!  DD was accepted at the 5 colleges she applied too but hasn't figured out which one she wants to attend.  4 of the schools are in Ohio and 1 in Indiana.  We'll wait to see what the numbers add up to and make a few visits before she commits.  I am so excited for her...it's almost as if I'm going off to school, not her!  A severe case of senior-itis has set in though and this last semester will be rough for her.

My MIL is now in hospice care and Mark has been with her in New Hampshire for the past 5 days.  We don't expect her to live through the week...it's just a waiting game now.  I may have to hop on a plane and head out there later this week.  Her birthday is in 12 days, her 91st.  Mark and his brother have been by her side for many many hours lately and did the right thing by moving her from a nursing home to the hospice facility.

Hoping we don't get a lot more snow in the next couple of days!   I have been spoiled by a man who loves snow and always does all the shoveling.  I sure do appreciate it.

The knitted garden

While I was browsing around Joann Fabrics the other day, I came upon this book called Jan Messent's Knitted Gardens. I was charmed and even went as far as suggesting it to my family as a possible Christmas gift for moi.

This is the kind of thing that totally captures my attention but unfortunately I doubt I have the attention span or patience to actually do any of this, but a girl can daydream, can't she?

Just look at those monks tending their cabbages! Aren't they adorable?

You can find more pictures from the book here. Ms. Messent also has books on a knitted farmyard and enchanted castle. So sweet.