Update on HOT LIPS!

Well, bless my soul, Hot Lips isn't gone for the summer but rather took a short vacation. I came home today to find a shoot from one pot that has about 5 blooms on it (although still in the beginning stages) and the other pot has a shoot that has a few blooms on it (I can't tell how many yet).
This is such a surprise because last year once the initial blooms died, there were no others!
I will keep you updated when they blossom!

Goodbye Hot Lips

It is a sad time at the Wooley-Karl house. Hot Lips is gone for another year. She gave me so much joy this year. This was the second year she resided at my house. Last year, there was just one of her, with 3 little offspring.
But this year she divided into two and gave off 21 beautiful offspring.
Who or what is Hot Lips? Why she is the most beautiful day lily you have ever seen! Or in this case, day lilies! Here is she is, on the last day of the season:

I purchased Hot Lips last year and she gave me 3 blooms. But she got so large I divided her into 2 plants and held my breath. I had never raised a day lily so I didn't know what to expect. I kept her in two pots and then about a month ago she sprang to life, giving me a new, bright orange open blossom just about everyday. Sometimes 3 or 4 a day. But day lilies do not last long. I would come out in the morning and there would be a bloom. But by the next morning it would be withered away. I think Hot Lips just was so hot she exploded each day!
This year, I think she will have one pot that will have to be divided, so next year I will hopefully have more blooms.
Goodbye sweet Hot Lips until 2010. See you next year!

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July to all! And to all those who are keeping us safe this 4th of July and all their families, THANK YOU!
Please stay safe this holiday. I had a minor accident yesterday while with friends. We were hit from behind and all of us were jarred up quite a bit.
It was due to simply not paying attention. The young woman had a dog with her, talking with her friend that was with her and had her leg propped up on the side of the door.
Throughout the day yesterday and today I have observed many people swerving in their lanes, one even going up on the curb. It was most likely not due to drunk driving, but rather texting and talking on the cell phone and not paying attention.
And because of silly behavior like this and because we know there will be fools out drinking and driving and because of the sheer volume of traffic on the road this holiday weekend, there will more accidents on the road, some quite severe.
During this season, there is a greater need for blood. And because people are out of their routines and because school is out, there is less blood available.
So, if you can donate blood, please do so now. Donate and donate often. You can make a REAL DIFFERENCE!

Got new stash

I received this package of goodies from my friend Tara in one of my Yahoo groups! It has my favorite 28 count fabric, 4 fat quarters of fabric and several charms, including some cute angels and some ribbons to use on my SFAC project.
I can't thank Tara enough for her generous exchange package. I hope she likes the one I have sent as well!

A Vacation

My grandsons and daughter are coming to visit me the end of the month. My husband James is also going to be off for the week with me so we have lots of fun planned.
But one of the best things we are going to do just involves my husband, myself and some wild women!
Now before you get any kinky ideas, we are going to see Roller Derby in Austin! Check out this site: http://www.txrd.com
I have been a huge Roller Derby fan since the 1960's when my parents, sister and I would watch them on TV on Saturday nights. Then A&E did a reality show about the Texas Roller Derby girls. Oh my! My favorite team is the Holy Rollers. With names like Miss Conduct & Punky Bruiser, who can go wrong?
My daughter is going to stay home that evening with my mom so we can go down the road to Austin to see them. It is like a dream come true! Ok, to some it might be a nightmare! But I CAN'T WAIT!

Is it really almost July?

I cannot believe it is almost July and I cannot believe I haven't posted since May 30th. Time has just gotten away from me.Now, on to the stitching world. Several weeks ago I participated in an embellishment exchange with my Yahoo group. This is what I got from Lizzy.

There are some great eyelets that I can use with my Crop-a-dile and some purple ribbon. Then there are these beautiful silver, lacy looking butterfly charms that I can't wait to put to use. Thanks again!
I am also participating in Rene's hardanger online class. Here is the fabric, threads and beads I chose:

The fabric is 28 count and is called Waterlilly. In case you can't see it, the color is this really pretty light green. The threads and beads are ecru. I can't wait to see how it all turns out!
Well hopefully in the next weeks I will work out my issues. In the meantime, keep stitching!

Now what?

I just started this candle wrap for my SIL's unity candle. Her wedding colors were burgundy and silver.
I called her to chat and to let her know I was working on the wrap. Imagine my surprise when she told me she was in the process of packing to move out. Her fiance had told her this morning that "he didn't want to get married anymore". Her wedding date was June 27th.
What could I say? She, like me, had waited a long time to find the right person. She thought she had found her soul mate, but it was not to be.
So now my question is: NOW WHAT? Now what do I do with this piece of needlework. Maroon (burgandy, actually) and silver are not the most popular colors.
I received the pattern from my friend Sandy who had made a couple of needleroll ornaments for my stitching for a cure project.
Since burgandy is the color for hemangiomas, a type of non-malignant cancer, I highly suspect (that is a phrase my grandmother used all the time. I will have to tell you more about her later) that I am going to make this into a needleroll ornament also.
I have already stitched the biggest part of the reverse double backstitch. It also has some herringbone stitches and your choice of a Rhodes heart or butterfly, along with some beadwork for flowers.
In the center where I was going to put their names, Sandy put the word cure on one and the word hope on the other. I think I will do the same.
This linen band will work nicely for a needleroll I think.
But I am truly sorry it is not going to be used for the purpose it was started for. I had dreams of them celebrating their 10th anniversary by lighting the candle.
I pray God has something even more special in line for my SIL.

Lions, and tigers and bears, oh my!

We have had so much fun this weekend. First of all we went to the zoo here, which was so lovely. The animals were quite playful. The pictures do not do them justice! For instance, what you can't see in the bear picture is that we were just a pane of glass away from touching that bear's nose. He was in the water, eating an apple! And the tiger was pacing.

This elephant was showing off for us. She would raise her trunk and flair her ears for all the photographers wanting to photograph her.

This baby bison was born just 3 hours before we photographed her. The umbilical cord and placenta were still attached to the mom. She stood up on her wobbly legs and tried to nurse, then had to lay down.
And finally, I told my husband I wanted to see a waterfall before I left this earth. While I may not see one in nature, this zoo had 4 of them and they were absolutely beautiful.
Here is a picture of my two grandkids and me in front of one of them.

We have had a wonderful weekend. Saturday we went bowling. The entire family, DD, DH, SIL and of course the grandkids. It was so much fun. I taught my grandson to "shake his tail feathers" when he threw the ball for good luck. That little bony rear end of his could really move!

And my daughter was amazed how great my grandkids could bowl!

One of the best things we did was to take my mom out with the whole family to our favorite hamburger joint. We wanted to take her to watch us bowl, but it started raining and she got soaked so she had to go home and we had to go without her.
Here is a picture of her with my daughter.

All in all it was the perfect weekend. Just perfect!

Little things

Little things mean so much. Like a dandelion picked from a field by your grandson for you.
My dear husband James did one of these little things this weekend.
The steering wheel cover on the vehicle I have been driving leaves a black residue on my hands and sometimes my clothes. It is much worse when it gets warm. I suspect it is some kind of adhesive that is oozing from the seams of the cover. This winter it hasn't been a problem, but now that warmer weather is here it seems like every evening when I drive home I have black on me.
I mentioned in passing how it irritated me and that I needed to go and pick up a new steering wheel cover to my husband.
That night when I returned home, there it was. A new steering wheel cover.
I know, I know. It is just a steering wheel cover. Probably only cost a few dollars.
But it meant so much to me. And was just so sweet of him.
Yep. Little things mean so much!

My anniversary

I will celebrate my 4th anniversary on May 28th. For those of you who don't know, I waited until I was 44 to get married for the first time. Did the whole big shebang. White dress with a 4 foot train, church wedding, my boss giving me away (my dad passed away before I could get married), just everything!
My husband is 14 years younger than me. He is my hunk of burning love!
Seriously, he is the man I waited all my life for and the love of my life. God truly blessed me with him.
I am thankful I have had 4 years with him and pray for many, many more! James, I love you!



These are pictures of the unity candle I had at my wedding. My good friend Lenna stitched this candle wrap for me. It is beautiful.
I am attempting to make one for my sister-in-law who is getting married this June. I pray I could do a job close to as nice as this one is.

Happy Mother's Day!

This is Donna's daughter, Jennifer. I have hijacked her blog to wish her a very special Mother's Day! My mom is my best friend and I love her more than words can say! I wanted to hijack this to let her and all her friends know the top ten reasons why I love my mommy!

1. She is just as crafty as I am if not more!
2. She listens to me rant about my kids (and then tells me how it's my fault!)
3. We both love the spa and always know when in doubt hair and makeup is the perfect present!
4. She taught me how to cook.
5. She loved me enough for both a mom and a dad.
6. She is the prettiest lady in the whole wide world.
7. She can make me smile.
8. She cries at all the emotional shows on TV (but still makes fun of me for being the same way).
9. She gave me her beautiful eyes.
10. She gave birth to me and raised me to be the mother I am today so I can celebrate this day too.

I love you mommy! Now you have speakers so turn up your volume and listen to the CD I was going to burn for you, but this works better!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all! We all had a mother, good, bad or indifferent. I have a lovely mother. Her name is Jan.
Let me tell you about my mother. She and my father married when she was 14 and he was 17 and no she wasn't pregnant. She didn't have me until she was 21.
At the age of 30, yes, 30 she had a massive stroke. Then 6 months later another stroke. They did an angiogram and found out that she had a rare benign tumor on her heart valve. She became the 3rd person in Waco, TX to have open heart surgery to remove the tumor.
But the stroke had done major damage. At that time they didn't have the clot busting drugs they do now. Or the physical therapy techniques. So everything mom lost, was lost for good.
Included was her eyesight in her left eye, the entire right side of her body was paralyzed and most importantly her speech was gone.
She is now 69. She has lived this way for 39 years. At first she could walk with a cane, then a walker. She has fallen so many times she has pretty much broken most of her bones. Her spine is a crumbling mass of tiny fractures.
So now she is in a wheelchair. When she stands to transfer into the bathroom or into her chair or bed, she is completely bent over, like she is reaching to pick up something.
But let me tell you something the stroke did not take. HER SMILE. She smiles all the time. Everyone that sees her can't help but smile. Strangers in the places we go just warm up to her.
She is pretty much confined to home, but Saturday is beauty shop day and we better not miss beauty shop day or all he-- breaks loose. Lord help us if it is raining or icy. The next week will be miserable if she misses beauty shop day. They treat her like she is a celebrity there. They make coffee just for her and even after she is done getting her hair done, they wait for her to finish her coffee.
Today my sister, her daughter and my sister's boyfriend joined us for lunch. This is a picture of my sister & her daughter & Mom & me.
Tell me the truth. Didn't her smile make you smile too?

I am baaaacckkkk!

Thanks to my mom and sister I am back online with a new computer! I will have lots of pictures to and more updates to post. Right now I just have lots of catching up to do. Thanks so much for the prayers and kind thoughts. It has been stressful, but we are getting through it!

Update from Donna's daughter

This is Donna's Daughter, Jennifer. Donna had a lightening strike on her house. All 4 of her TVs are out, the water heater is out, the dishwasher is out, the hallway light is out and most importantly her computer is gone. She will not be online until she gets computer access again.

My Saturday and the infamous biscornu

I had a lovely Saturday. My EGA had our annual May luncheon and despite some minor catering problems, it was wonderful. The food was good and the fellowship even better. I laughed and talked and ate myself into needing a nap afterward. Here are some photos of the luncheon:





And now about the biscornu. I passed out the fabric, threads, etc and instructions for the biscornu at the luncheon.
I had stitched most of the top of the biscornu before my friend Lenna took it over for me in an effort to keep my sanity (I only needed 3 small specialty stitches on the top). She did the backside and put it together.
It shouldn't surprise you that with all the problems I had with it when I was stitching it that I would have problems with taking a picture of it now that it is finished. I took 10 photos, all of which are blurry. Here are two of the best (if you can say best in this situation).


Now, let me give some people their "props". Thanks to Lenna for finishing this for me. You are an angel. Thanks to Mary Ann & Dana for helping me with the supplies for this project. Thanks to Mary for sending me her finished biscornus to show as examples. And thanks to all of you who have encouraged me.
I will be giving this little jewel away at a later date. I still have to teach the class this month and next. Wish me luck!
P.S. You might have noticed I now have a Facebook Badge. I am now on Facebook. Come visit me there if you like. I know NOTHING of Facebook but had many requests to join Facebook so I gave in!

Flowers, bees (or wasps), and water

My Sunday was lovely. After feeling like crud last week, I think I am finally turning the corner. Today I felt more like "myself" than I have in weeks.
My husband took me to the arboretum and to the lake for a lovely drive. Yesterday was cloudy and rainy most of the day, but today was beautiful.
I know this is supposed to be a stitching blog and I have done a little stitching (I will show later), but lately "spring fever" has caught me and I have loved seeing all the wonderful flowers and taking pictures of everything.
First, here is a lovely peach colored rose. The wasp was enjoying it as much as I.

And then I saw these beautiful tiny purple flowers among these pink roses.

Then we drove by the lake. The water was choppy due to the wind, but there were some boaters and one brave skier (the temp outside was only in the 70's). We also saw this cute family that was fishing. They had a little 2 year old girl that was so precious. She ran up and down the hill with her father in pursuit of her. If you look closely you can see the whole family by the lake fishing.

All in all it was a wonderful day. My husband and I had some quiet time just the two of us, away from everything. I got some fresh air, as well as a fresh perspective on life.
I promise I will have more stitching soon. But spring and those wonderful spring flowers just last a little while, so we have to enjoy them while we can!

A challenge

For those of you who follow both my blogs, please excuse me but I will have the same message on both blogs.
Most of you know I am working on a project for American Cancer Society. We are stitching Christmas ornaments for a tree that will be raffled off and the money given to American Cancer Society.
My friend Mary and I were talking last night. I have been focused on getting enough ornaments for the tree. But I forgot one very important part of the tree: THE TOPPER!
I am thinking an angel would look great on top.
So here is my question to you: Do you know of a pattern for an angel to go on the top of the tree? Do you have any ideas on how I can make one? I would hate to have a store bought angel on top of this beautifully hand stitched decorated tree.
Any suggestions would be welcome! You can leave me a msg. here or an e-mail at dwooleybooger@yahoo.com
So put your thinking caps on and help me! Thanks.

No Easter Eggs, but lots of flowers

I want to wish each of you a Happy Easter. My grandkids are not here, so I have no Easter eggs or baskets to show. But I do have lots of flowers.
First, can anyone tell me what this flower is? The past several weeks I have noticed what I thought was a weed taking over our arboretum. It looked like a weed. Then this week these beautiful red flowers popped out of them. They are gorgeous!

I love spring and this spring has proven to be one of the most beautiful. Even the cacti are blooming!




Now I have a confession to make. My dad loved flowers. We have many, many videos of flowers from him. And even when we went to Disney World, we didn't have video of Mickey or Goofy. Nope. We had video of all the beautiful flowers there. I didn't understand it at the time.
But now, I see a little of my dad peeking through. I have come to LOVE flowers. And I LOVE taking pictures of them and boring people with my pictures of flowers.
I even had my DH out in the rain today, picking out a beautiful pink rosebush for me for our yard. He loves me and he loves gardening. I just love looking at the garden and telling him where things should go.
Speaking of rosebushes, here are some red and pink roses I saw at the arboretum today:


Here is a pink rose, very full:

And a pink bud:

And now, how about a full pink rose and a bud, together!

I just love spring! And Easter is the best part of spring!
Now later, when I post about my allergies, remind me of all of these flowers! Achoo!
Have a happy, hoppy Easter!

Panic attack/hissy fit over

Ok, I am in a better frame of mind today. I think part of the reason I was so frustrated is that I am so freakin' (excuse my language) tired.
My iron level is still really low and all I want to do is sleep. And I am sleeping well at night. But after working all day or even yesterday doing 5 loads of laundry just exhausts me.
James and I have been eating much better and trying to take better care of ourselves. We are eliminating "white" foods, white potatoes, white pasta, white rice. We have switched to brown rice and sweet potatoes when we have them. We have wheat pasta and even wheat, low fat biscuits when I make breakfast on Sunday morning. We have added oats to our diet, oatmeal for breakfast and adding oats in things like turkey meatloaf (made with white meat turkey). While I am not a big bread eater, James eats sandwiches while he is on the road. They are just more convenient to carry when he goes out. He has switched to a 35 calorie bread. I am proud of him.
We have started growing our own vegetables. So far, the lettuce, tarragon, mint (oh my do we have mint), sage and parsley are the only thing that we have been able to harvest. So we supplement with plenty of fresh veggies to make salads with.
I know it is going to take a long time to turn us around, but it is time. I have two grandsons that love me as well as a daughter and son in law that love me also. And I have a mom that is dependent upon me to take care of her. Not to mention, my husband is my life & my love and he needs me.
But mostly I have gotten to a point with my health that I HAVE to take better care of me. My health issues are such that I have to eat better and exercise more to feel better. It won't make me well, but it will make me feel better.
I want to thank all those who left me messages. It is strange. Having people I consider to be friends that I have never met. When I was a teenager I had a pen pal in another state. I never met this person, but for two years we were extremely close (then we found BOYS and drifted apart). Having friends online is like having many, many pen pals! I delight in reading everyone's blogs and messages on my Yahoo groups. I love and applaud for you when things are going well or you finish a piece of needlework! And I have cried many many tears for those of you who have lost friends and families or who have been hurt by others. You are my friends away from home. Thank you for reading this blog and thank you for being here for me.

Allow me to vent

Lately all of my stitching or at least the biggest portion of it has been to support my Stitching for a Cure project (if you don't know what this is, please check out my other blog, http://stitchingforacure.blogspot.com)
It seems to have taken over my life to a certain extent. I am passionate about this project, but I do spend a great deal of time worrying that I either won't have enough ornaments to make the tree "sellable" or we won't be able to sell enough tickets for the tree to get what I want to get for the American Cancer Society.
The latter of the two I haven't spent quite so much time obsessing over as I have the first one.
We have a little over 29 weeks (nearly 30 weeks) before this project has to be done. My goal is 200 ornaments. Right now we have 30. If I stitch an ornament a week, that will give us 60. But that is 140 ornaments short of the goal.
I realize that November is still a long way away (29 week, 6 days, 1 hour and 45 minutes) and I also realize I have many people who have promised ornaments and who are working on the ornaments.
But it is truly keeping me up at night. Have I bitten off more than I can chew? Is this just a pipe dream of mine? Am I asking too much of my friends, many of whom I have never met in person or even spoken to on the phone?
Am I driving my friends here and everywhere crazy with this obsession? Everyone at work knows about the project and sees every ornament I make. I am using every PR resource I have to help sell this tree.
I will keep on stitching and if we have to do a smaller tree and bring in less money than I hoped for, I will have to live with that.
But I really hope and pray we can pull this off.
I started this project because I wanted to make a difference. God gave me a talent, the talent of stitching. I would like to use that talent to help people. It is a one year commitment. I started in November 2008 and by the end of November 2009, it will be over.
Everyday, I hear about or see or meet someone with cancer. And I get so frustrated. I feel, even though I work in a field where we help cancer patients everyday, so helpless to be able to make a REAL difference. Last year at Relay For Life, I made myself a promise. The promise was that in 2009 this would be my year that I would stand up and try to help.
I guess I need to just stay focused on what I am doing and let everything fall into place. I do know that God's hand is upon this project. I need to let him guide me through it.
Thanks for listening. Thanks for being my friend.
Donna