Well, well, well…….now we know and cross stitch update and a little reading update

 As most everybody who reads this blog knows, we have urban foxes that live under our deck and frolic in our yard.  We do not feed them, however, because it seems that being fed by humans destroys their fear of humans and reduces their dependence on themselves.  They tend to disappear from time to time and we worry where they go.  We all know the fate of Bubbles. We now have answers.

My husband was out messing with the sprinkler system that has a mind of its own and he struck up a conversation with our neighbor.  Seems she was up all night worried that her yard was going to catch fire with the fireworks going off across the street.  She also said the fireworks were driving her foxes crazy.  HER foxes.  Hmmppp—I beg to differ.  I mean the fact that they use my yard as their personal potty should give me some rights — right?  Then she went on to tell my husband that they feed them and have for a couple of years.  Fox food!! I didn’t even know they manufactured fox food.  Well, they do.  One of the foxes even waits for her on her patio.  But she doesn’t talk to them she declared.  I don’t think the lack of conversation means a thing, do you?  So, anyway, they aren’t disappearing, they are just going into food comas.

So, now that we can relax about the foxes I can focus on other things, like my total obsession with cross stitching these days.

I have been cross stitching for years but put it aside for a long while only to pick it up again right before I broke my arm.  Well, during that time of healing, when I couldn’t do much of anything with my arm, the desire to cross stitch just grew so once out of the cast I got right back to it.

Now, I am having a bit of an issue with it — I tend to not do things in short bursts, I like to sit down, get cozy, get a cuppa and a movie and just veg out on what I am doing.  Unfortunately my arm/hand won’t let me do it.  I was told when I had my release appointment that I have extensive and severe arthritis in my left hand and the break must have just made it all worse.  So, now I have an issue with my hand going to sleep and getting numb so my stitching sessions are shorter.  And, apparently Trixie doesn’t like to see me stitch so she interrupts constantly which is just so annoying.  Anyway, I am not able to just jump in and enjoy like I would like to.  Oooohhhh, a nice rainy day would make it so much better too!  That is not going to happen here in Texas anytime soon I am afraid.

So, I have been working on one of the kits I bought in Williamsburg.  It is a cute kit — the Governors Palace — and the colors are really pretty.  I was going to grid my fabric but it is 16 ct and was hard to do with the pen and the sulky sliver just tests my patience so I gridded on the chart instead!

What do I mean?  Well, I found the center of the fabric and the center of the pattern and I drew a red line around that first square on the chart and completed it.  Then I moved to the right and did the same.  So, my chart looks gridded but my work does not.  It has been difficult not to just continue stitching but rather stay in the block and finish it as I am completely finishing each block as I got (there is no backstitching).  I tried parking my thread and that didn’t work for me — I got all tangled up.  And I am learning that pin stitches on such small count isn’t easy either so I am back to my old methods.  It is working out well, though because I am able to keep up with where I am as I am highlighting each grid box as I finish.  I will say it is taking forever though.  This will be the finished product.

And in reading news, I am almost finished with #18 in the Made in Savannah series by Hope Callaghan.  I really like this series even though it is very predictable.  They are easy to read and hold my interest and are, of course, set in one of my favorite places — Savannah.  I recommend the series as something fun to read, light reading, and nothing offensive.

My daughter is back in grad school for the second time and is taking a course with some interesting reading selections.  One is a book called “The Hemmings of Monticello”.  There is mention of people that I believe are ancestors, perhaps lateral, of mine, so I bought the book.  It is a chunkster, though, so I am going to tackle it one chapter at a time. I think it is engaging though so it might go quicker than I think.

I have also borrowed from Kindle Unlimited the sequel to The Little Shop of Found Things.  It is a series as well with four in the series so I am going to start on #2.  Then I purchased “Book Lovers” because it seems to be the thing everybody is reading right now.  I am going to have to change my reading habits though because it seems when I lay down in bed I fall asleep quicker than I used to so I am not getting as far as I would like.  So, I might have to sit up to read at night.  Darn.

So, now I am off to pick our new glasses.  My script hasn’t changed much so the doctor said I didn’t have to get them but I know what will happen if I don’t—when I go back next year it will have changed enough that it will be a huge change in prescription and that will take some getting used to so I am going to get the new prescription.  I don’t like getting new glasses.  I don’t like picking them out.  I certainly don’t like the high cost once a year — I might keep my current frames and just get new lenses.  We will see.  It will be an adventures.  Right. I will let you know.