Sheba

Sheba 2001-2012

My heart is broken.

xox

Sheba and the March ORT Report

TUSALers leave a comment on this post with a link to your ORT report for an extra entry in the totally useless giveaway!

Another New Moon ~ another ORT report! I had a wide variety of thread colors this time. Dark ones, light ones and in-between ones:

Had the odd idea earlier this year to save each months ORTs in it's own jar. I'm cheap so I recycled pimento cheese jars. They actually look really cool as you can see the different colors being used each month. Not sure how long I can keep up eating a jar of pimento cheese a month. It's a good thing the stuff is fairly low-carb. I guess it's okay as long as the celery holds out =)

Still looking for a nice shelf or somewhat to put 12 pimento cheese jar ORT containers on display. If you would like to join this Totally Useless Stitch A Long, click here. All you do is save your ORTs and snap a photo to post on your blog on the new moon!

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Had a bit of a scare today with Sheba. She began groaning yesterday, which I noticed while watching TV. It bugged the crap out of me ~ not that she was making noises but that I worry about her. Then, Dash slept on the couch last night (he has a cold) and said she groaned all night long. A dog who has terminal cancer suddenly doesn't stop groaning? OMG Of course, we are thinking this is THE END. In a panic all morning until I can call the veterinarian who said she needed to come out and see her as soon as possible. The exam revealed no sore spots, no flinching when somewhere is touched, no swollen lymph glands. No signs at all of cancer type pain. Just a typical old dog with aches and pains and who is slowing down. The vet said old dogs sometimes get flaky and moan & groan for no good reason. She is getting some mild pain relief and a round of steroids. This is much better news than I was expecting and I can't express how relieved we are!

A very nice photo of Sheba above.

How pictures of Sheba usually turn out below. 

I keep laughing at that one.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Spring Fever

Spring is in the air. It is coming ~ you can just feel it! Of course it doesn't hurt that it is so warm outside today it feel like late spring already! The trees are budding out and the pollen counts have skyrocketed and the Border Collie is shedding her winter coat all over the house. I can sit and brush and after 45 minutes the house is full of loose hair, I have a dog that won't let me touch her any more and she is still shedding. Yup, it's almost spring.

Do you have that friend? You know...the one that hides or makes horrible faces when you go to take her picture? That's my Sheba. If you are pointing a camera in her direction she will look away. Every. Single. Time. Goofy dog. Look how silvered she is getting around the eyes? Such a pretty old lady! She is recovered from her thyroid surgery but she moves slower and rests more.

In honor of the coming spring I have treated my blog to a bit of a spring cleaning. I have deleted some outdated elements, trying to give everything a bit of shine. (Now if I could just get that freakin' header photo to center I will be satisfied! Edit: Thank you Joyce! You are pretty awesome.) Another thing I did was go through my blog list link by link. Yes, it took me two entire days but I visited every single link and removed those blogs that appear to have been abandoned. To accomplish this great feat I had to create a new link list and manually transfer the addresses. This means there might be *gasp* mistakes! If you find a broken link or a blog title that links to the wrong blog or an incorrect spelling please email me and let me know: daffy-cat AT hotmail DOT com

By the way, emailing me saying only, "Hi Sharon, my link doesn't work. Love, Winkie"...won't work! Do you see how many blogs I read??? Please tell me the name of the link that is wrong (as it appears on my list) AND tell me the address it is supposed to link to. Feel free to correct any of my links, not just the one you own.

The best thing about spring is my birthday comes right before...tomorrow in fact! To celebrate my day of arrival I have taken the next three days off work, telling those that work for me not to call or text me with problems unless they have just burnt down my store. Tomorrow, Dash is taking me to Tulsa for a bit of stash enhancement and such. We are going to cheat on our diet. I'm having a dessert. I might even have a little too much to drink! Can you see it? "I'm sorry, honey. I didn't mean to spend $1500 at The Silver Needle. I was drunk!"

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Thrilled

Someone threw this jar in the trash at work and I happened to find it before it disappeared. Can you believe someone would throw away a perfectly good ORT jar? I rushed it right home and washed it and filled it with my ORTs. This is at least twice as big as my old jar plus it photographs with much less glare. My old jar was a gift from Jessie, my daughter. I hope she doesn't mind me replacing it! Sorry, kiddo!

I've had a couple of hours free to stitch on The Finery of Nature. Sadly, this does not photograph as well as the new jar. Ugh, black fabric is hard to shoot! I will figure out the best way to take this one's photo before I'm done stitching. For now, will you please excuse the lint and odd colors?

I'm enjoying the stitching but I keep being insanely distracted by fuzzies. You can't see these fuzzies when stitching on lighter colored fabrics unless it happens to be a black-dog-hair fuzzy. On this black background I see them ALL. I keep "picking" at them. Oh gee ~ they are all over the place! My advice ~ buy stock in companies that make lint rollers. They are sure to gain before I'm through with this project. 

We had great news! Sheba's last blood test was normal! The doctor has prescribed a heart medication and a vitamin supplement. The heart medicine is so her heart does not have to work as hard and this should give her a little more energy. The supplement is for joint health. Sheba is feeling much better these days. She isn't quite up to tennis ball fetching like a pup but now and again she has been getting out a stuffy-toy and shaking it to pieces. Her neck is dreadfully itchy. Not sure if this is the incision or the shaved fur but we have spent a lot of time rubbing a stubbly neck lately! Thanks again to everyone for all the well wishes for Sheba. Much appreciated!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Presents

I got presents! We are having a very quiet Christmas this year. With Sheba being ill and so many vet bills we agreed to not go crazy this year. So I wasn't expecting any presents. Then I picked up the mail ~

From Myra came this lovely threadcatcher. This will be so handy when I stitch in the living room. I am always saving those ORTs for the TUSAL, ya know. Thank you so very much, Myra. I will treasure this! BTW, Myra's house must smell heavenly...

Then came this pretty wrapped package from Shirlee. It "says" jingle bells on the wrapping. AND it jingles! *squee* What could it be?

I thought about saving this to open on Christmas morning but greed got the best of me and I opened it:

Oh, my. Isn't it pretty? You wouldn't believe how carefully and perfectly this ornament is finished. I LOVE the jingle bell accent too. Thank you so much, Shirlee. This will join my treasured stitched ornaments on my tree every year!

No stitching of my own to share yet. I started another project on Sunday and very nearly completed it! I want to wait until I'm done before I show it off.

Sad news. Sheba's biopsy indicated a malignant cancer. This means it can easily spread ~ to the other thyroid and to the lungs most likely. Our vet is researching our options with an oncologist and we will see. She did say it was a 50/50 chance of recurrence and it could be as long as two years or more before that happens. Of course, Sheba will not be allowed to suffer no matter how much we want to keep her with us. For now, we will enjoy her company and work on keeping her happy and healthy. Thank you all for the good thoughts and wishes in my posts on this subject. You have helped us so much. *hugs* to all.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Seven Swans

The Prairie Schooler ornaments are still being worked on. I finished Seven Swans a-swimming this morning. Wait, I take that back. It was finished shortly after I started to take pictures of it. Realizing I had forgotten to stitch the grey in the wing, I paused my photo shoot. 

This project is over half way finished! Here are all the pieces completed so far. Sorry about the weirdly cropped picture. I had to edit out my ridiculously cluttered desk or you will know I'm a slob. I meant to clean it off this weekend but rather stitched in abandon instead. Now, it is even more cluttered. Life could be worse.



No, haven't found backing fabric as yet. I am not going to start any finishing until all the ornament pieces are complete. I want them all to be exactly matching each other and the only way I can pull that off is to do them all at once. That means there is no hurry to find the fabric.

Doggy update: Sheba had her stitches out on Friday. The incision looks good and although a very furry dog with a shaved neck should stand out ~ the long fur remaining hides it pretty well. There is still no word on the biopsy; the vet said she would call the minute it came back. We are also going to wait on the next blood test a couple more weeks. Sheba still has a heart murmur and the vet is hoping that it will go away after the high thyroid levels out. If it doesn't she may need medicine to correct it.

On the plus side, Sheba is slowly returning to normal behavior. The constant panting is gone and she is sleeping in bed for longer periods. Yes, I sleep with my dog. The hyperthyroidism made her so restless she would come to bed but then go sleep somewhere else, then somewhere else again. And this was the dog that never once got out of bed after we laid down. Really, that should have been my first clue that something was dreadfully wrong. Tennis ball fetching is slow to return but I've been able to toss a couple more each day. She will get more energy in time. It might be my imagination but I believe her fur is already getting shinier. She has put on a couple of pounds too, best watch that or we will be back on a diet!

Back to stitching!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox  

Friends

I had a little finish over the weekend. This was a quick and fun stitch. Snowmen and Cardinals? Two of my favorites and I know many of you love them as well.

Design ~ Friends #F47

Designer ~ Lizzie*Kate

Fabric ~ 28 count unknown/unlabeled Linen

Fiber ~ DMC



Of course, I have news of my best-est friend ~ Sheba! Her surgery went very well. The vet was able to remove the enlarged thyroid without a problem. She left the other, normal-sized and normal-looking, thyroid and this is good news! That means Sheba probably won't have to be on thyroid supplement medicine for the rest of her life. Results from the biopsy come in a week. The vet said her heart rate was already lower and I haven't seen her panting at all. It should take a week to ten days for her thyroid levels to come down to normal. She will need periodic blood tests to see where it's at.

Poor Sheba came home about five o-clock this evening. She took a ten-minute drink of water and laid down in a favorite spot in front of the door and hasn't moved. We coaxed her into eating some boiled chicken, rice and yogurt and she's had a pain pill. It really hurt to swallow. It breaks our hearts to see her in so much pain! I'm hoping she bounces back quickly. More news when it comes.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Behind

Reveling in not being obligated to post after NaBloPoMo I find myself behind in a few things!

First up is some giveaway winners! Winners, you ask? Wait, wasn't there only one giveaway recently? Officially, yes, but the Joy scissor fob I posted about was a hidden giveaway post. Surprise! Everyone that commented on that post was secretly entered to win the fob. The lucky winner this time is Meari of Meari's Musings. Congratulations, Meari!

The other giveaway was for the Lizzie*Kate Snowman '10 chart. The lucky winner of that cute snowman design is Judith of Judith's Needlework. Congratulations, Judith!

I will contact both winners to find out where to mail the prizes!

 

For those of you asking after Sheba, she is scheduled for surgery on Tuesday, the 6th to biopsy her thyroid and to remove it if possible. We will find out about a week later if the growth is just a benign tumor or if it is a malignant cancer. Sheba will be feeling pretty poorly after the surgery and until her thyroid levels go down. The high thyroid levels make her metabolism run very high, that's why she has lost weight and is always panting. She doesn't play ball but she wants to: she brings the ball, you throw it and she runs to get it and lays down to rest. It makes us very sad that she doesn't feel up to playing ~ that isn't my normal Border Collie! Since the thyroid is in the neck she won't be able to wear a collar until she heals. I went to the pet shop this morning and picked up a step-in harness she can wear if she needs to go somewhere. When I got home and tried it on her she looked so sad and confused as if I was strapping her into a torture device! Silly old girl! I will keep you updated as I know more.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

What big teeth you have!

Sheba at about one year of age.

Sheba hasn't really been acting like herself lately. She is ten years old now and she has lost quite a bit of weight the last few months, she is also thirsty, itchy, restless and panting. I had the vet out to look at her last week and today she went in to have her teeth cleaned and to have a full blood work panel done. We picked her up this evening. The vet said everything looked good except she had hyperthyroidism and a heart murmur. The vet comes back out to check her thyroid again in ten days and we go from there. Sheba may have to have surgery to remove the thyroid or take medicine ~ we just don't know yet. She might also need to start heart medicines, depending on how that develops. Right now, I'm just glad everything else looked good. I understand both conditions are common in older dogs and as I was studying a chart in the vet's office that said in people years Sheba is 60, whoa!

Sheba has nice clean teeth now.

All the better to eat you with, my dear! 

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Sheba and the Hedgehog

Sheba can be the funniest Border Collie. This video was taken with my camera a few years ago. The ending is so silly! Dogs make your heart smile =]

Rick's computer is playing up and I wanted to save this video in case the computer decided to crash and we lost it. I uploaded it to You Tube as a precaution. I think I've shared this on my blog once before but as a link instead of embedding like this. Now you don't have to leave my blog to see it.

Never mind how I sound like an Oklahoma hick. I was baby-talking my dog!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

*Gasp Pant Sigh*

I've been too busy to blog, can you imagine? It's been crazy around here. No stitching, no blog reading, no posting...I miss you guys! I plan to have a nice relaxing weekend, catch up on my blogs and do some stitching. Serious stitching.

In the midst of the chaos came a suprise in the mail from Patty of Hanging On By A Thread. What a gorgeous RAK! Stitched in my favorite color ~ green and the most beautiful handmade pins. Isn't this pinkeep scrummy? It's stuffed with crushed walnut shells so it smells good and has a lovely weight to it. Thank you so much Patty. I cherish it!

One of the things keeping me busy is some cleaning & redecorating. We've been working on the living room. We moved the couch. Fifteen tennis balls under the couch? Now you know for sure a Border Collie lives here! And don't feel bad that maybe all her tennis balls were stuck under the couch. There were at least thirty still in her toy basket...

After tomorrow, I have FIVE days off work. I can't remember the last time I took more than a long weekend off. See what I mean about serious stitching plans? I'm talking major stitch-ass complications here, girls. Bring it on!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

I Smell Poo...oh, and August Rings

I got home from work on Sunday...I don't usually work weekends but someone was sick and I'm the only one idiot enough to answer the phone...anyway, I got home and it smelled like dog poo in the house. Well, if no one has poo on their shoes the likely culprit is...the dog. A quick sniff of Sheba told us she had rolled in something ~ ewwww! Dogs, they can be so freakin' weird. Now, Sheba hasn't had a bath in years, literally. She has an odorless coat (I mean, she still smells like dog but then, she is a dog) and she is scared to death of the bathtub (scared enough to try and bite me once!) She gets brushed out once a week and spot-cleaned for dirty paws & such and that is enough. Usually. I can't really deal with poo-scented dogs. What to do?

Do you know there are such things as a Dog Wash? Just like a Car Wash! You go in and there are ramps up to platform-type tubs. There is a chain to snap to the collar and a spray wand. Dial up what shampoo, conditioner you like...there is even skunk odor remover! Insert quarters, just like a Car Wash. It was great. Sheba didn't seem to mind too much either. Now we have a lovely lavender-scented Border Collie with soft, fluffy, shiny fur. Bye bye poo smell! Goofy dog! And she still won't look at you if you're pointing a camera...

I've finished August! This one was quick and easy. I have even gotten quite far into September already. I might just be caught up in a few days. At least, I am on the correct month now, right? Woo!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Not Late ~ Just Lazy

I say, I'm not really late with the TU SAL. I took the photo on time for the full moon...I just haven't blogged it until now. Isn't this impressive ORT collecting, even with having eleven days less? Remember how late I was last new moon? Having lots of stitching mojo is awesome!

The Autumn Clematis has started blooming. I hope this means it is finally Fall, at last. Our weather has improved with rain and cooler temperatures (for the most part.)

Now, don't ask what the name of this Clematis is. I have no idea! "Edit: this is clematis paniculata" It grows like crazy. In fact, it went all Jack-in-the-Beanstalk and covered over the Butterfly Bush...I'll have to watch it closer next year! Sheba refused to look at the camera as she hadn't gotten her hair brushed this week.

The flowers are less than an inch across and are creamy white. And it blooms out late, late in the season. Pretty, isn't it? It's planted on the side of Rick's garden shed on a pretty white iron trellis. Damn stuff grows like Kudzu and you can't even see what it's hanging on...so it kinda looks like a huge green blob on the shed. LOL

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Progress

Isn't it about time I showed you some stitching? Earlier this month I finished the bottom row on Peacock Cypher. This is such an easy stitch...except for the fact that I'm stitching it in DMC instead of the called-for silks. There are a few different silks, all the same two colors, with different symbols for each in the pattern. When you stitch this with DMC it is just two colors but you have to remember that "these three symbols are all the same color" and then, we throw in some other stitch types, Smyrna & Mosaic ~ with different symbols yet. It takes some studying!

Some of you will be pleased to know I have been working on Snapper Year! I'm at least to the half-way point with the June block. Maybe I can catch up and have the months aligned? It was very relaxing to take a break from this for a few weeks. Now, I feel I have some enthusiasm for it again.

My mom is finally home from the hospital and doing well. I hear she feels better than she has in months and that is good news. Sheba had a visit to the veterinarian to look at her paw. The vet shaved the fur off so we could see the skin and it was healing. Sheba got an ointment called Lick~Guard that I put on her foot to help keep her from sucking it raw. (It kinda smells like dill pickles, except more stinky.) She has settled down now and save for rather scabby, bare toes she is fine!

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Short but heartfelt today. Rick & I are off to Tulsa for a romantic weekend. And I get to stash!

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Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

An RAK for me!

It's been a perfectly horrid week. How nice it was to arrive home one night to find a package in the mailbox with an RAK from Lei of And Sew it goes! Isn't this the most clever pincushion? And it's LADYBUGS ~ my favorite! This is so well put together and I can't even find where it was sewed together after stuffing. Magic, I tell you! This really & truly made my whole week, Lei. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I suppose I must tell you about this terrible week, since I've already mentioned it and don't want anyone to worry about me. Monday evening my mother was taken to the hospital having seizures. They discovered her potassium was below a fatal level. After a few hours she went into cardiac arrest and she was brought back with CPR and a jolt of electricity. They kept her in the cardiac ICU until Thursday evening and then moved her to a regular room. Now, we wait to see if they can discover why things went wrong and find out what's to be done. It has been a long week with driving to the city every day and spending long hours at the hospital. I was able to take a few days off work during the week so I could be there. My dad is just beside himself as you can imagine.

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I do apologise, the RAK in my last post has not gotten mailed yet. I will try to get it sent this week. The computer hasn't even been turned on until today. I have been moderating comments left on my blog from my iPhone and checking email from there too. If you are waiting on an email from me, I will get to it! It is going to be SCARY to open my reader; I am sure I will be overwhelmed with posts to read! I am going to try to get through a few of them today. You will excuse me if I don't leave many comments...

Poor Sheba has been bewildered with the stressful goings-on and I discovered a couple of days ago she has sucked her back foot until it is raw and bloody. She has always comfort-sucked her paws, just never like this! I have been washing it with a dab of shampoo in warm water, smearing it with antibacterial ointment and spraying it with bitter apple (a taste deterrent for dogs.) It looks a little better but she is fretting over it and I know she has still been sucking it when we are gone. I don't know how she stands the bitter apple! Pets are as bad as children when it comes to the worrying about them.

I will try to get back to my regular blogging routine as soon as possible. I really miss you all.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

A merry little Christmas ornament

Last weekend...or was it then? I forget now, because things have been freakin' crazy around the Bennett household this last week. So...maybe I had better say, "recently" I finished the second Christmas ornament in my Ornament Swap group and mailed it off. Lori was my recipient this go-round and she has posted that she has received all of the ornaments we stitched for her. She made a simply precious post about receiving them. I wish I could write like that!

I stitched a ginormous ornament for Lori. This sucker is approximately 4x7 inches! I don't usually like ornaments that are "too big." But this one insisted it was for Lori. And Lori didn't seem to mind such a big, honkin' ornament anyway. The snowflake fabric was used for the backing. I had to stitch this one because it was darling and it was a snowman and because Lori said she didn't really like sampler designs and this one is named Sampler Winter so...there you go! I had too.

Design ~ Sampler Winter

Designer ~ Marika Belfiori

Fabric ~ 32 count Belfast, tea-dyed

Fiber ~ DMC

About the last crazy week? Poor Sheba got really sick with an infection and had a 105 temperature with diarrhea to boot. She had a trip to the vet's office and had her arm shaved to draw blood and got lots of fluids put under her skin to help cool her off and for dehydration. She then got a paste for the diarrhea, antibiotics for the infection and a fever reducer. She thinks it's one big dog party because she gets to eat ground beef and brown rice for her icky tummy. But she is all back to her waggy, tennis ball crazy Border Collie self now.

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Me? After having a sick dog, I spent all weekend cleaning carpets and floors. Oh joy! Then, we cleaned out Jessie's old room. Rick was all gung-ho about painting it. "Between the two of us, we can have it painted in just a few hours!" he said. What he meant was, Sharon can paint it by herself in two days! Thank goodness I was able to take today off work! Sadly, I haven't had time for much stitching the past few days. Surely the coming week will be an easy one.

But I'm not going to hold my breath.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

I've run out of April

Oh dear. Epic failure. Today is the last day of April and I have not completed my Snapper Year April block. No! No! Not the wet noodle!

What on Earth could have kept me from stitching? Yard work. Lots of yard work! Rick was out of town last weekend and I surprised him upon his return by having all the flower beds cleaned and planted. Boy, was he surprised. Or shocked, more like! Last Summer, nothing was done in the yard because of construction...new roof, siding and guttering. By the time all that was finished it was too hot for new plants and besides, who wants to work in the yard when it is hot outside? Not me! So...since last Friday I have worked my rear end off and just look at the results...

This is the front flower bed, very shady. I have Hosta, Hydrangea, Azalea and Impatiens. This is also the bed where my Lily of the Valley is, sweet Linda in MA sent me them last year.

You can see the Lily behind the bird bath. Lots of Easter Lilly in here too. It is so peaceful.

And I can't hold the camera straight.

Another view of the front bed.

The whole house, new siding and all! The grass hasn't really greened up yet.

My Lantana bed. Butterflies love these and they flourish in the heat.

The bed at the front porch is hard to plant as it's half shaded by the house. I planted Impatiens along the back and Rose Moss in the front.

The back Patio. Ignore the rubbish.

I should have cleaned up before taking photos!

The back bed along the garage wall. Lavender, Rose Moss, Dianthus and the Clematis. The Clematis has flower buds all over and should be covered in purple flowers soon. That screen shades the air conditioner in the Summer.

While I was out, I happened to snap this hilarious photo of Sheba right as she was starting to chase a bird. I just crack up at the look on her face.

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I hope to finish up that Snapper block this weekend.

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Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

A picture of Sheba and a welcome

Sheba complains I only ever show photos of Taco on my blog. This is not true. I often show pictures of people's pets I don't even know, right? Oh, well. This will make the Border Collie happy, right? See those little smiley teeth?

I'm still exchange stitching so no stitchy photos to share :o( and I'm dying to share the pretty ornaments I'm stitching...

We have yet another new blogger on the block! Everyone go meet Nick and tell him I sent you his way. Welcome to blogland Nick! I'm afraid you are outnumbered by all "us" girls. We promise to play nice though!

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Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

January Snows

Oklahoma had another winter storm move in on Thursday. We had about a half-inch of ice, followed by lots of sleet and snow. In fact, it snowed all day yesterday! The ice was brief enough here that it didn't bring down our power lines. But it still seems just wrong to be thankful for sleet!

Sheba had fun in the falling snow yesterday. This would be a fantastic picture if it wasn't for the trashy toys left out in the neighbors yard. Put the stuff away when it isn't play-outside-weather!

The ice covered our Magnolia tree. When it started to melt a little we were able to slide leaf-shaped ice impressions off. I stood them up in the snow in the bird bath so you could see. Isn't Mother Nature the best artist ever?

Just in the nick of time I finished up my Snapper Year January Snows. It was a close call! I haven't put the snaps on for the snow fellow's buttons. Actually, does anyone else think Bent Creek's use of snaps is kinda strange? Is it just me? Am I missing something? I'm thinking I might find some teeny tiny buttons to use instead of the weird snaps. I know it's called a Snapper...but I just don't get it! Opinions, please!

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Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Wordless Wednesday