My Stitchin-n-Stuff

Still Hurting

Haven't stitched much this week as I've been struggling with the sore, stiff neck and now I have pain in my shoulder with numbness and tingling down my arm.  I've been to the doctor, chiropractor and massage therapist.  I have some mild exercises and stretching to do.  They all believe that the sore, stiff neck has caused the inflamed muscles to swell and reduce the space in the narrow channels the nerves run through.  

I say this has gone on long enough and I'm ready for it to be gone!  I thought simply acknowledging that there was stress in my life would lessen it and my neck, shoulder and arm would feel better.  

Work, Work, Work

I was working on the year end reports and discovered a bug in our accounting software -- after I had printed all the necessary reports.  The software didn't update the accounts to include any of the new account numbers that had been entered throughout the year so those new accounts didn't print in the reports.  I had to go into the account setup and manually update the reporting part of the software to include all the new account numbers and re-print all the reports again.  I made sure the software developers knew about this bug and that I was not happy.  Ah, there IS a light at the end of the tunnel and the work is slowly getting completed so I'll be able to enjoy an extra day off over the 4th of July holiday.

My New Favorite Flower

My MIL gave me a gift certificate to a local nursery, so I've been picking out new perennials for my yard.  I've seen alot of coreopsis varieties in the stores this year, so I guess it was only a matter of time before I'd pick out several for my garden.  I also discovered that there are varieties that come in my favorite color -- pink, so I'll have to get a couple of those for next year because the nursery didn't have any of those varieties left.  I also picked out a couple of varieties of Bee Balm, Blanket Flower and Delphinium.  Hubby is my gardener, so he's been busy planting them where I've designated.  I have to make sure he leaves the tags in the ground so he doesn't pull them out thinking they are weeds, lol. (Sorry for the blurry, washed out pics - it was windy and cloudy when I took them.)

Coreopsis

Blanket Flower

Another variety of Coreopsis

Bee Balm

Baby Fish

My daughter came home from school one day last week and discovered there were baby fish swimming around in her aquarium!  She set up our extra aquarium and transferred the babies to their own tank and sent me a text message stating that I am now a "great-grandma".  She did throw me for a loop with that!

Four of the nine baby fish

 Freecycle Item Received

A couple of weeks ago, I responded to an offer for a "lightweight, easily portable Singer Sewing Machine in excellent condition and great for taking to quilting groups or class".  Knowing my oldest daughter wanted a sewing machine of her own, I thought this would be perfect for her.  Had Hubby stop by and pick it up as he was going to be in that area the next day.  This is what the freecycler gave him:

Singer 99

This particular sewing machine was manufactured in 1956 and is considered "newer" because the very first of this model were manufactured in 1924.  The case shows alot of wear and smells really musty, but the machine itself is in very good condition and sews very well.  I don't know why the freecycler said this was "lightweight and easily portable" because it weighs alot (but I have not weighed it).

What is that?

Walking into work this morning, I thought there was a leaf stuck to the building because we had rain and wind last night.  Upon a closer look, it was not a leaf!  It was a ...

  ...Tree Frog!  In my area, we hear them all evening and all night long, but I've never actually seen one.  This little guy (or gal) was only about 1.5 to 2 inches long and he (or she) stayed on the building for hours until the sun peeked out and was shining on that side of the building.  

Wishing everyone in the USA a Happy and Safe 4th of July!

Until next time,
Happy Stitching!