Happy Holidays

I haven't been here in a while. I hope all of you have had a wonderful Christmas! Both of my children were home and it was so great! I had missed them both soooo much! DS flew in on the 19th and DD and SIL got here the next day. DD is VERY pregnant. It was fun to watch her tummy move around and I must admit we spent a very large amount of time doing just that. She is struggling with carpel tunnel syndrome and has to wear a wrist brace on both wrists. She gave me a beautiful mother/daughter necklace that was so special. It has two charms on it, one is mother of pearl and has Chinese symbols for mother and daughter and the other is silver and has it written in English. I love it and it meant so much for her to give it to me. DS gave me a docking station for the ipod he had given me for Mother's day. It was just what I wanted! The best thing of all was the time we got to spend together. It was so hard to see them off. DS was flying to Minneapolis and had to sit in the plane for half an hour waiting for them to clear the snow so they could get to the gate. [Here it was in the 50's and 60's.]

I have done absolutely NO stitching! I have been reading like crazy though. I plan to spend time tonight on my VOHRH - finally. I hope my SAL group hasn't kicked me out! I promise to catch up!

I am going to go now an catch up on reading all of your blogs and find out about your holidays! Happy Holidays!

Five Finger Prayer

I had never heard this before. This is beautiful - and it is surely worth making the 5 finger prayer a part of our lives.

1. Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a "sweet duty."

2. The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.

3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God's guidance.

4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger, as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.

5. And lastly comes our little finger - the smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, "The least shall be the greatest among you." Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
I'll be back soon.
Jane

Quick Post

Auditions went well. I wound up taking 12 to audition. I started with 16, I saw that I had written 164 in my last post and just laughed. That'll be the day!
Anyway, when we got there, one guy just backed out. But all of the others passed the first step of the audition, which pleased me. We will hear next week about the results.
I have to type the program for tomorrow night, so no time to read or write.
JAne

Busy, Crazy Times

I decided Friday that I was going to come home and hibernate for the weekend, and that's exactly what I did. Last week was our school's Spirit Week - each year we choose a charity and spend the entire week raising money for the charity. Wade Hampton High School, a rival school also chooses a charity and the two schools compete to raise the most money in that one week.

For the past several years our charity has been Cystinosis[sp?]. It is a little known disease that receives very little money for research. As I understand it, this illness causes the organs of the body to crystallize. There is no cure,only medication that has to be taken every four hours just to stay alive.

There is a little girl named Laura that lives in SC who has been the center of our school's project. We've watched her grow from four years old to eight. It is so amazing to see these high school kids love that little girl and cheer for her and treat her like a little princess.

Each year she and her mom come to school everyday the week of Wade Hampton Week
and the school basically goes completely crazy doing all sorts of activities to raise money. From early morning until late at night there are activities constantly, as well as during lunch.[we DO have classes] This year we raised - are you ready? - $106,000.00! IN one week, can you believe it? And the most exciting thing is that Laura's mom found a foundation, somewhere - and I don't know the name of it, that is going to match our money, dollar for dollar! So, $212,000.00 - Amazing! It would have been great if we could have counted the foundation's money too, then we would have won, but the fact that all that money will go to cystinosis research is wonderful. That money will fund two researchers for three years to study and search for a cure.

Wade Hampton raised $130,000.00. So, in ONE WEEK, two schools just a few miles apart, basically in the same community, raised $236,000.00. It's just amazing. All of the students get involved and excited and open their hearts to this little girl and empty their pockets.

There is a video on U Tube of our principal dancing at the pep rally, well, attempting to dance. There is this dance called Soldier Boy [?] that all the kids are doing, and he said he would dance is they could raise $100 right there in the pep rally, and they did.

Oh, and I forgot to mention - back in September my students had sold $11,000.00 worth of cookie dough, frozen pizza and frozen cheesecakes - which the company decided to deliver this Thursday? Right in the middle of Wade Hampton Week. So I had parents and kids sorting and checking out orders for our choral fundraiser until after 5:00 in the afternoon.

So, I was exhausted, because basically the kids were WILD all week. I did nothing except sleep, read, and stitch this weekend, mostly sleep. It was great. I can't say that I feel rested, but better than I did on Friday.

This week we have SC All-State Chorus Auditions. I am taking 164 to audition but will have another try-out Tuesday to weed out any who still don't know their part. If one person messes up, it can throw off the entire quintet. They have to learn Pergolesi's Allelia in 5 parts and perform it in quintets, one to a part, for five judges. If they pass that portion of the audition, they then go one at a time into another room and sight-read eight measures for another judge. The auditions are Thursday in Columbia - we will have to leave at 7:30 AM to be there for our assigned time.

Then Thursday afternoon we have a rehearsal for our concert on Monday night. Each year, we sponsor the East Greenville Invitational Choral Festival. WE invite 6 other choirs to perform two songs each, and then we do a combined number at the end of the concert. My concert choir meets in two periods, so we are practicing together after school. Combined there are 93 in the choir. I am so excited about the choir this year, they are working so hard and are already sounding wonderful. I wish ya'll could hear them! The concert is next Monday night, Nov. 5 at Taylors First Baptist Church in Taylors.

So, next week is actually going to be crazy for me too - I hadn't realized it until I wrote all of this. ACK!!

Well, this hasn't been about stitching or knitting, but it is my life right now, so... The good news is, that I will get to stitch [or knit] all the way to and from auditions on Thursday.

Happy Stitching!
Jane

Pictures!

The first picture is some fabric I found at the Ben Franklin in Louisville. Aren't the colors great. I told you in my last post about the pumpkin I am going to make, but the other project is for a PIF so it must remain a secret for now.

















And..I found a Halloween box. I don't like it as well as the ones Becky had, but I was excited to find one.








Umm..have I mentioned that I L-O-V-E Halloween?

I am going to read some blogs and then go stitch a while.

Happy Stitching!
Jane

Home Again, Home Again...

Hello All,

I really missed this while I was away. The first thing I did when I got home was come in and check everyone's blog.

I had a great weekend with DD and SIL. They took me out for pizza the first night I was there, to a really great pizza place. Saturday we went 'yard sailing' and found some great baby stuff. I bought 21 Little Golden Books for $5. And DD and SIL found a great baker's rack for a great price. He sanded it and painted it and it looks great in their kitchen.

I went to the Louisville Ben Franklin Store, which I love! I found some great fall materials, which I will post a picture of when I locate my cord for connecting the camera and the computer. I have a picture of a pumpkin from about 15 years ago that I found in a Country Living Mag that I have been saving. The pumpkin in the picture is made from vintage men's ties, oranges and blacks etc. and has a witches hat. I have never been able to find any appropriate ties, so I am settling for material that looks sort of 'vintage tie-y'.

I also found a Halloween Box. Becky had posted pictures of some that I loved. And lo and behold - there were some at Ben's. There was only one design, but I at least have it.

I went to church with them Sunday morning, to the church where my SIL is Youth Minister. The youth were having a lunch after church and we went to that too. Lots of nice polite young people.

I did get to stitch some. Finished the three Halloween faces with the button eyes and started the Celtic Pumpkin. The drive to Louisville is about 7 hours. Just think of all the stitching I could have done if I figure out a way to drive and stitch at the same time. Sigh! I'll post some pics tomorrow.

Happy Stitching!
Jane

Weekend Plans!

So, to continue the haircut saga, it looked even worse this morning than yesterday. I colored it tonight, covering the gray, which it totally was since she cut off all of the color. At least tomorrow I will look younger. Several people said they liked the haircut, it's the ones who don't say anything - when you know they HAD to notice - that convince you that you are right. Anyway - enuff, it will grow.

Today we found out that one of our teachers has had 'allegations' made against him. It was all over the news tonight. He didn't turn himself in at 4 and as of 6 they were 'looking for him'. It makes me so sad, I don't want to believe it's true - he is a friend and I have taught both of his daughters and know his wife well. The thing is, even if he is found innocent, people will still talk. I choose not to believe that it's true. He is such a nice man and he is my friend.

I am going to Louisville this weekend to see my SIL and DD and her baby tummy. I am excited about seeing her. We are planning to go yard sailing looking for baby stuff -fun.

I hope everyone has a good weekend and gets to stitch. I probably won't be back until Monday night. [Sorry Lyda]

Happy Stitching!
Jane

Halloween Scarf and a Bad Haircut

Isn't this the coolest scarf? I bought this yarn when I was visiting my son in Minneapolis this summer. It stripes as you knit. I took a closer view, but now I can't find it on the computer. I am such a computer klutz!! Anyway, I see myself wearing this with black pants and a black turtle neck. I am making it
v-e-r-y long.
YAY HALLOWEEN!













Well, today I decided to get my hair cut by an actual real hair-cutting professional - you know, someone who has actually had training in hair cutting - better known to many as a cosmetologist. I generally cut my own hair in my bathroom with sewing scissors. [Which is probably why Jeni cut her own hair at age 3 with her little rounded scissors, because she kept seeing her mommy cutting hers. She had so little hair that I didn't even realize she had cut it until I found hair in the crayon box. But, as Lyda says - I digress.] So, I went to a salon that Jeni had been to before and was a 'walk-in'. This was a young girl, with a pretty funky haircut of her own and several piercings in interesting places. Didn't stop me! I let her cut my hair, and you should see me. [Well, no you shouldn't.] She kept saying things like, "We are going to give you a 'current' hair style", and "we're going to 'update' your look". May I just say that I look like I stuck my finger in an electrical socket! It sticks out every-which-a-way - no kidding. She showed me how to fix it without using a comb or brush (?) and put wax on it to make it stick out and fluff up. So, I guess we'll see how all of this looks in the morning. Sigh! [I wonder if you can stay out of school until your hair grows out and call it sick days - I'm pretty sick about it.]

Woo-hoo!

It's a girl!!!!!!

I am so excited. They had one of those 3-D ultrasounds this morning. They said she kept her hands over her face so they couldn't really see her face. And DD said that when they showed the area that would tell it was a girl, she just saw a blur. Anyway, they are 99% sure that it's a girl, so I can start sewing and quilting and knitting and x-stitching for real! With a design in mind - I am thinking Honey Bees!I am going to Louisville next week for a long weekend and I am looking forward to yard sailing and shopping with the 'mommy'.

I stayed home today - still kind of in a funk and not sure why - but I thought a 'mental health' day might help. I always feel better when things around me are clean and straightened, but instead of cleaning and straightening I have been on the computer writing and reading and looking up cute pictures of honey bees. Go figure!

Hope you all have a great weekend.
Happy Stitching!
Jane

Stitching Retreat

Well, this weekend was my stitching retreat and it was great! There were 16 of us there and we got so many great things. I have uploaded the pictures but they are only showing up as a jumble of letters, so I will just write. We got three projects for the weekend.
1. was the pumpkin that I have seen on some of your blogs. She also painted and gold-leafed a box for us to mount it on
2. was a book with three patterns that can be done on plastic canvas. She also gave us a basket to mount it on and silk leaves to put on the basket also.
3. was my favorite. These three crazy faces..and you use these spiral buttons for their eyes that are just so much fun!
Friday night was a covered dish meal - and they brought so much good stuff! People who actually COOK usually go all out for these things! Not being one of those people types, I bought a tray of iced cookies from Bilo, which were a hit, so that was good.
One woman brought this corn dip that was the best thing I have had in a long time. When I get the recipe I'll post it, because everyone in the world should taste this dip! Saturday morning they had donuts etc. adn ordered pizza for lunch.
I really liked all of the women - they were mostly in their 30s 40s and 50s but there was one that was 25 and two in their 60s. They were all a lot of fun, and I intend to go to their stitching club this coming Friday night.

The first two pictures are of two things I bought that I want to do. The pumpkins are great, but my favorite is the one that says "Things haven't been the same since that house fell on my sister!" I think that is hilarious!!

I apparently have no control over the layout of this post. So...oh well!

School has improved greatly! We have been working hard on the All-State Audition piece, which is a buger, and they have finally gotten it. They are so proud of themselves! Also we have a Choral Festival on Nov. 5 that we sponsor. We invite middle school and elementary choirs that feed into our high school, so that hopefully they will want to stay in choir all the way throuch school. Each choir sings two songs and then we sing one number as a mass choir. It is amazing to hear 750+ kids singing together.

Thanks for all of the encouraging comments about my really bad days. Things are much better.

Happy Stitching!
Jane

"So you had a bad day...."

Well, all I can say about today is that it was horrible from beginning to end. 'Nuff said! I'm going to READ blogs tonight instead of write. However I do have a question - I notice that someone from Six Mile, SC reads my blog. Who are you, pray tell?
Jane

'Nother Picture

This is a picture of my favorite pumpkin. My choir gave it to me one year.
It is carved all the way around, but for some reason I cannot post the other pics. I am not computer super-savvy, but I don't think this problem is me. I keep getting the error messages. Oh well, Have a great day!!

Picture Problems

Well, again I see only crazy letters and symbols instead of pictures. Does this happen to any of y'awl? Anyway, the picture of the four crazy pumpkins is finished except for two crosses.
I am having trouble taking pictures. I tried to get a picture of one of my "pumpkin patches" but could not get the lighting necessary.
Just checked and the only picture that worked was the one I just mentioned.
Oh well, today I am planning to finish organizing my room and that includes all of my stitching stuff. Won't it be nice to know where everything is ?!?!

Happy Stitching!
Jane




When I posted the carved pumpkin, I discovered that the other pics had worked! This is all tooooo crazy. The color is really bad though, obviously there should be a lot more orange.

Well, I am attempting to post some pictures and what I see it lots of crazy letters and symbols. This has never happened before. So when I post, I don't know if we will have pictures or not.
Anyway, the Santa: I bought the pattern in Myrtle Beach when I was expecting my son, who is now 30. I finished it this past summer.
The pumpkin: a little disappointed in it. You can probably see down the middle of the pumpkin [or not if it is only letters and symbols] that when I came together in the middle, it did not work out. I was not about to frog the whole pumpkin, so sometimes I would stitch over three threads to try to make it work.
The Halloween pictures - almost finished.
And finally, or first maybe, who knows, is what I have done on the Village.

SO I am going to post to see what happens.....


Well, amazingly it posted pictures. Anyway, I have missed reading all of your blogs and that it what I am going to do now.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. I have been cleaning and organizing all day. I don't enjoy doing it, but I sure do love the results. I put out my pumpkin collection and my Halloween decorations. I love Halloween!

So, thanks for stopping by and not giving up on me.

Next weekend is my stitching retreat - I can't wait!
Jane

HELP Big Ole' Stitching Dilemma

I need advice....I am doing the Village of Hawk Run Hollow. It is such a huge piece of material. I have tried those white snap-on holders, but it hurts my hands to hold them. I have tried rolling up the material and using safety pins to hold it, but that is awkward and I worry about the pins making bad places on the fabric. What do yawl use to manage all of the fabric?

This makes me think of Kermit!

I am a sucker for little tests - try this one.

You Are Teal Green

You are a one of a kind, original person. There's no one even close to being like you.Expressive and creative, you have a knack for making the impossible possible.While you are a bit offbeat, you don't scare people away with your quirks.Your warm personality nicely counteracts and strange habits you may have.

href=">What'>http://www.blogthings.com/whatcolorgreenareyouquiz/">What Color Green Are You?

Back in the Saddle, Sort-Of

Hi - I didn't realize it had been so long since I had posted. I just haven't been able to shake the fatigue or the bronchitis. I have been going to school and then just coming home and going to bed. I slept all weekend. I have actually felt pretty good today, so maybe I am on the upswing. I have done a little stitching, but mainly I have just stretched out on the couch and watched TV. [The truth is I put 'stretched out' because I could not remember the correct conjugation of lie. I know you lie on a couch, and you lay an egg, but there my memory stoppeth. Lie, lay, laid, have lain?? I just don't remember, but I used to know. ] Anyway, I have re-discovered Designing Women. I LOVE that show. And I especially love Suzanne.
So, I'll go and read some blogs and catch up on all of you!
Jane

I Can't Think of a Title Worthy of This Picture

Thought you might enjoy this picture of me.

My kids at school tell me "It is so you!"

I'm afraid they are probably right!

I will write and post pictures of my pumpkins tomorrow!

Short post - I've been really sick. I did go to school today - l-o-n-g day! I'll be back!

No title

Sorry I haven't written in several days. The weekend was busy - and I am starting out the week feeling tired already. I did get some stitching done and finished my pumpkin. I'll post a pic when I get it into a frame.
Today was good - several girls stayed after school until 6:00 and helped me try to organize all the stuff in my room. We actually made a visible dent. I took them out for pizza afterwards - in the hopes that they will stay and help again.
If you teach, you know that there is a lot of 'beginning the school year' stuff that has to be done. If you don't, take my word for it. So...I may not be writing as much until I get caught up. Don't desert me - I'll be around!

Finished Blanket

Pictures of the baby blanket.


















This morning Jeni and hubby and I surprised Momma at the center for her birthday. She was so surprised, she cried and hugged and hugged Jeni. It was great!












Then Jeni and I went shopping for maternity clothes. Fun, fun, fun! She is so cute pregnant! She did get a little tired of my patting her tummy though. :)












I gave her the "I'm-finally-going-to-be-a-grandmother-baby-blanket". She and hubby loved it!! It is beautiful, even if I do say so myself!!












I appreciate all of the comments so much. Thanks for stopping by!












Happy Stitching!












Jane

News News

I found a stitching group AND I signed up for a stitching retreat!
There is a shop in Mauldin named Panda's Crossing. They have a stitching group the second Friday of every month and a UFO group every fourth Friday. AND they are having a Harvest/Halloween Retreat October 5-6. So I am signed up and excited! It's about a 30 minute drive, but so what!!

I've been working some on my pumpkin, but most evenings this week I have been to tired to do anything! Having my room and office at school SOOO unorganized is driving me crazy. So next Tuesday afternoon, a bunch of my girls are staying and we are going to really tackle getting everything done! I'm going to get material this weekend to cover some benches and chairs - really bright print with bright red, green, blue, and yellow. Red paint to paint the benches' wooden parts and a filing cabinet and gross desk. Some of them will work on filing the music that is sitting around in 125 boxes. I told them I would order pizza and we would just make a party of it. So, that should be fun - bonding and working!

The drum class meets RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO ME during my planning period, last hour of the day. OH MY GOODNESS!!! I can't even use the telephone. So, I went in there today and very sweetly asked them - after telling them how great they sounded- if it was possible to play softer when practicing. I told them I would bring them cookies or brownies every week if they would just do that for me. They were all about getting cookies and brownies and I could barely hear them after that. It will be so worth it to take them treats!!

Jeni and her hubby are coming in tomorrow. Momma thinks they are coming late Friday, but we are going to surprise her Friday morning at the Senior Citizens Center where she plays the piano everyday. I can't wait to see Jeni pregnant!

School today was...well I guess stressful covers it! But I am trying some new methods that I learned this summer to teach them to read music and even the kids are excited about it. So that is fun.

I think I shall go stitch!
Happy Stitching!
Jane

Misc. Ramblings

So, things seemed fine at school today. All the leaks were plugged. More boxes of mine arrived, but we're still missing some equipment. I found my missing table, they had put it down on the ground in the mud so they could walk across it. Go figure!

I went yesterday to hear a dear friend preach at a nearby church. He went through my choral program, has finished Southern Baptist Seminary, and is now working on his PhD. He was an amazing student, played Danny in Grease when we did it, and the tin man in Wizard of Oz. We've stayed close all of these years. I was so proud of him yesterday. It is so cool to watch students grow up and realize their dreams.

I spent the rest of the day working on my pumpkin. And couldn't wait to get home after school to work on it some more. Had meetings first, but I have accomplished a lot. I don't really enjoy working on this linen, it's really slow going for me and difficult to see. But, I shall persevere! In fact it should be finished soon.

Boy, working is really cutting into my fun time! I wish I could just x-stitch, knit, and read and just have a paycheck magically arrive in my bank account once a month! If any of you figure out how to make that happen, be sure to let me know.

Happy Stitching!
Jane

I haven't posted all week - I just came home and collapsed. It's always difficult to get back into the new schedule. School is good, classes are good - still don't have all of my stuff...lost in 'moving land' I guess. Boxes keep straggling in from other teachers who got chorus stuff delivered to them. And my grand piano is STILL in the old building in the library.

Wed. they delivered 40 boxes of copy paper to me and stacked them right outside my door, with me inside. Fortunately I can get out through the band room! Okay - that much paper would last me 20 years! literally! When the movers aren't sure where something goes, they just pick a place and put stuff there.

Yesterday we had a terrible storm, the hardest rain I have EVER seen, hail, wind, the works. It started about ten minutes before school dismissal. And the school was leaking all over the place. Can you believe it? I guess it's good that it happened now, so those things can be fixed, but what a mess! My room was okay - however I did have a leak in my office Thursday from the sprinkler system.

So, I haven't touched my stitching all week. My plan is to work on my pumpkin this evening. I finished the baby blanket and I will get to give it to DD this weekend, since she is coming for my Mom's 90th birthday. DS can't make it in from Minneapolis, I miss him so much. I am planning a surprise party for her.

This is kind of a dull post -but I am feeling kind of dull right now. Thanks for stopping by my blog and I appreciate all the comments!

Happy Stitching!
Jane

Why are my posts not showing?

Post so the Post will Post

Here is my little post to get my last post to show up!

First Day in the New School

So today was the first day of school for the kids. All of my classes were good - good sizes, well-behaved, nice kids. My stupid car, which has been fine all summer wouldn't start at all this morning. ACK! How revolting. So a friend picked me up and someone came for the car and I am praying that it can be fixed CHEAPLY!!!!!
I am going to work on my pumpkin tonight. Tomorrow my lesson plan is "Setting Up a Choral Music Library" which will entail each student getting a box and unpacking it. heh heh. I mean, what else can I do, did you SEE those boxes??

This is the chorus room. The riser system they sent is not the one we ordered. We are working on that.



















This is one view of my office. As you can see, everything is still in boxes and nothing is organized yet.












ANother view of the office. Not sure why they put in kitchen cabinets....














This is one of three practice rooms.












Another view of my office.


















Another view of the chorus room.













The ceiling of the chorus room, which I think is really neat looking. The choir sounded really good, those acoustical tiles are doing their job!
















One view of the enormous storage room.















Storage room - obviously not organized yet.














Storage room.














Library










Library















Commons area - cafeteria













Oops - storage room again.










Library














So, someone needs to tell me how to delete pictures!
Have a great evening!
Happy Stitching!
Jane

Someone did, actually several someones and I deleted all the repeat pics! Thanks Guys!

Posting Dilemma

Okay, here is an interesting dilemma. When I write a new post, it doesn't post until I do another one after it.

Really bad pictures of new stash

I have some new 'stash'! I was in the only LNS that I know of around here [they keep closing]. I saw two models that I immediately fell in love with - both pumpkins. I had the owner order the two patterns for me and went to pick them up Tuesday.

One was in a book - A Fine Collection by Barb Adams and Alma Allen; Blackbird Designs. If I had known the price of the book, I would not have ordered it, but I didn't, so I did, and I am working on the pumpkin. The picture in the book is done with the variegated yarn, but the model I saw was done with a solid orange and I liked it better. It is on tie-dyed brown faric.

The other pumpkin was Celtic Pumpkin from The Sunflower Seed. The model was done using beige instead of yellow, as shown in the picture. I also liked that better and will do mine the same way.

As I was checking out, I noticed another model, Christmas Tree by M Designs. The model was done all in gold and had small gold beads sewn around on the tree. If you look closely, which is difficult with the picture I took, it says Christmas from bottom to top and is mirrored on the other side of the tree. My PLAN is to make if for my DD for Christmas, but I have learned never to count on my PLAN where handmade gifts are concerned.

This picture is terrible but I can't seem to delete it. In the picture it is done in silver and had multi-colored beads. You can barely see that it says Christmas in cursive writing on the bottom side of the tree.

I am having trouble with lighting with the pictures. The light or the flash on the camera reflects on the pattern. Oh well, maybe you can tell a little about the patterns.

I have done nothing today except sleep. I was exhausted after working all day yesterday moving boxes and books and furniture. I awoke this morning at 10:59, lay down to take a nap at 12:12 and awoke at 5:32. Isn't it funny how, now that we have digital clocks, we say time to the minute. Of, course, some of you may have been born AFTER the advent of digital clocks, but those of you that are nearer my age, know what I'm talking about.

And now, since I think my brain is actually still taking a nap, I will just go back to bed.

So much to do,so little time, let's just cross-stitch!

Today they delivered most of my stuff. There are 125 boxes stacked in my room, 2 pianos, 80 new chairs, 75 old chairs, 6 benches (?), a huge riser system that is NOT the one we ordered-nor is it assembled correctly, and 15 filing cabinets. There is neither a desk nor a table. The band director THINKS he is going to use one of the practice rooms as a storage room. Ah...NO!
The strings teacher and I plan to handle that situation tomorrow morning.

The new telephone system is amazingly complicated. We have to go through a 25 minute training session before they will give us our phone. Somehow they are hooked into the computer system and we can get our voice mail messages on our computers. Yesterday one of the women in the office accidentally forwarded the school phone calls to some mom's cellphone. She called about 11:00 am and said she was getting all of these school calls on her cellphone, people were yelling at her about schedules and buses - it was too funny! [Needless to say, they made the receptionist go through the telephone training again!]

SO, I am going to go snuggle down on my wonderfully comfortable couch and cross stitch on my new pumpkin pattern and pretend that I am NOT a chorus/drama teacher who has students starting class on Monday and has no music, folders, textbooks, handouts, or lesson plans!

Ah...stitching!
Jane

The post below doesn't show on the blog. There are huge spaces for some reason. Oh well.

Life is Good!

So...second day....still no books, music, or filing cabinets. BUT the big riser seating system arrived and they were still working on setting up when I finally left at 5:00pm. I will definitely take pictures tomorrow.

However, the day ended on a very high note! I bought.....drum roll......OFFICE SUPPLIES!!!!!!

I love love love love office supplies!! So here is a picture of my new office supply 'stash'!



Check out the cool colors! Post its, magnets, pens, pencils, glue sticks, round magnets [to be notes on the board!!]















These are paper clips.

But......




The PIECE DE RESISTANCE....

[I have no idea how to spell that]


STRIPED PAPER CLIPS!

Can you stand it????


If you will look closely, in the middle of the 'stash' there is a little wooden pumpkin. It was sitting on the cash register and I said "what a cute pumpkin." And he said, "Take it, it's been there for a year." So I did....because I also love pumpkins!

So, no air conditioning, books, music, filing cabinets, or pianos.
But boy do I have office supply stash!
Life is good!

Happy Stitching!
Jane

Missing Music, Prisoners, and a HUGE Bootie

So...I went to the school. Oh my goodness, it is SO not ready! There is no furniture in my room or office. All of the boxes of music etc. are who-knows-where? And they are still painting and wiring. They had prisoners there unloading the moving trucks, with their guards standing around patroling them. Weird. Oh and the air conditioning didn't work and the parking lots aren't ready. So...after this wonderful, peaceful, calming summer, one hour there and all the stress was back. I just wanted to come home and knit, which I did, and I finished my baby blanket. It is so beautiful. I tried a bootie - it would have fit a five yr. old, so I frogged it and tried a bib. It was just ugly! Frogged it too. So I decided I would BUY bibs and booties and maybe try a sweater! [Tomorrow - just call me Scarlett!]

Thanks to that crazyhaberdasher!

I am going to the school today. I hear that it isn't quite ready, which makes me a little concerned, but I'll soon see. I DO know that the new chorus room is amazing and I will take pictures and post them. BTW, thanks to everyone who sent me instructions on how to post pictures. We'll see if I get it!!




That crazyhaberdasher nominated me for the Nice Matters Award. I am so honored. She has commented regularly on my blog, in fact I think she was my first comment. I enjoy her blog, you should visit, it is always soooo interesting. Thanks Maz!

Okay, I'm going to take more pictures to post!
Happy Stitching.
Jane

Pictures....I hope.

Hello

Everything is in upside down order. ACK!


















So now I will try to post pictures of two things I am going to to do. One is yet another pumpkin pattern and the other is a kit that I saw on someone's blog and fell in love with and ordered.




I just realized that they will come in above this.




I first uploaded them in backwards order so they would be in the order I wanted. Those pictures are floating around out in blogland space.


















Today has been an arthritis day. I have done nothing but cross stitch. I am trying to post some stuff. It never goes where I think it will go..... Okay they keep disappearing.
















SO, this is probably as confusing to read as it was to post. I'm going back to cross-stitching.


BTW, thanks for stopping by my blog and for commenting and e-mailing. I do so wish that some of you lived closer!

Are any of you going to the convention in M yrtle Beach in October? I'm really thinking about doing that!!


Happy Stitching!
Jane

PS I don't know why all these big spaces are here.