Books Read for 2010

1. My Lord John by Georgette Heyer
2. Aunt Dimity Vampire Hunter by Nancy Atherton
3. High Noon by Nora Roberts
4. Final Target by Iris Johansen
5. Remember by Barbara Taylor Bradford
6. Thunderhead by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
7. Tainted Evidence by Robert Daley
8. The Pagan Stone by Nora Roberts
9. A Difficult Woman by Jeannie Watt
10. 24 Karat Ammunition by Joanna Wayne
11. Montana Skies by Kay Stockham
12. Murder has no Class by Rebecca Kent
13. Hostage of Lies by Maxine Thompson
14. Who Killed the Pinup Queen by Toni Kelner
15. Strange Magic by Gordo Rollo
16. Death of a Witch by M C Beaton
17. The Queen's Lady by Barbara Kyle
18. Black Rain by Graham Brown
19. The Darkest Whisper by Gena Showalter
20. Runaway by Bobbi Smith
21. Thai Die by Monica Ferris
22. Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
23. The Victoria Vanishes by Christopher Fowler
24. Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich
25. The Elves of Cinitra by Terry Brooks
26. The Gypsy Morph by Terry Brooks
27. Out of Control by Suzanne Brockmann
28. The Heir by Barbara Taylor Bradford
29. Heart of Gold by Tami Hoag
30. Over the Edge by Suzanne Brockmann
31. Angel's Peak by Robyn Carr
32. Moonlight Road by Robyn Carr
33. Dark Horse by Tami Hoag
34. Live to Tell by Wendy Corsi Staub
35. A Christmas to Cherish
36. Violets are Blue by James Patterson
37. Frankenstein Prodigal Son by Dean Koontz
38. Taken by Chris Jordan
39. Mysterious Millionaire by Cassie Miles
40. The Fury by Jason Pinter
41. Just a Little Bit Dangerous by Linda Castillo
42. Let Darkness Come by Angela Hunt
43. Wolf Moon by Patricia Rosemoor
44. Cold River by Carla Neggers
45. The Stranger and I by Carol Ericson
46. The Darkness by Jason Pinter
47. The Cold Room by J.T. Ellison
48. Around the Clock Protector by Jan Hambright
49. Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult
50. Proof by Seduction by Courtney Milan
51. Out of Body by Stella Cameron
52. Bargin with The Devil by F.J. Chase
53. Out of Mind by Stella Cameron
54. Out of Sight by Stella Cameron
55. The Summer Hideaway by Susan Wiggs
56. Up in Flames by Rita Herron
57. Shadows from the Past by Linda McKenna
58. State Fair by Earlene Fowler
59. Let Me Whisper in Your Ear by Mary Jane Clark
60. How to Marry a Ghost by Hope McIntyre
61. Santa Cruise by Mary Higgins Clark & Carol Higgins Clark
62. Ten Second Staircase by Christopher Fowler
63. The Virgin's Lover by Phillippa Gregory
64. The Puzzle Lady vs Sudoku Lady by Parnell Hall
65. Now You See Her by Linda Howard
66. 72 Hours by Dana Martin
67. Just After Sunset by Stephen King
68. Preaching to the Corpse by Roberta Isleib
69. Dead Sleep by Greg Iles
70. The Law of Nines by Terry Goodkind
71. A Blush with Death by India Ink
72. Believe in Me by Jessica Inclan
73. Past Perfect by Susan Isaacs
74. Knit Two by Kate Jacobs
75. Hand of Evil by J.A. Jance
76. Malice by Lisa Jackson
77. The Egyptian Coffin by Jane Jakeman
78. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
79. Web of Evil by J.A. Jance
80. Blind Alley by Iris Johansen
81. Devil May Cry by Sherrilyn Kenyon
82. Stealing Shadows by Kay Hooper
83. Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris
84. The Haunting of Josie by Kay Hooper
85. Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich
86. The Keepsake by Tess Gerritsen
87. Snowbound Bride to Be by Cara Colter
88. Silent Witness by Leona Karr
89. Texas Sized Secrets by Elle James
90. The Christmas Clue by Delores Fossen
91. I'll Be Watching You by Tracy Montoya

Didn't make 100 books this year. Maybe next year. Total pages 31,657

I worked on Freight Train this past week. Didn't get much done but some progress is better than nothing.

My DD is home for the holidays. All of the shopping is done. I am as ready as I am gonna be. But the tree is still not up.

Saturday evening I finished up Happy Girl. I really enjoyed stitching this one with all of the bright colors. I did use Florescent Light Effects floss which took a while getting used to. I also had to use 3 strands of DMC. I did make some changes and left off the wings and the outline hearts. This is my 3rd and last finish for 2010.

We will be putting up the Christmas tree next weekend. While my stitching chair is gone, I will be kitting up projects to fill this spot in my rotation. I think I will pick some small and medium ones.

I took a picture of my Ort container. I will be emptying it out and starting over.

Winter is here. Tempatures this week will be cold. High in the 20's with lows single digits. This starts my guilt free stitching. Too cold to be outside so what else can I do but stitch. :)

I started a new project on 11/28/10 to fill the slot in my rotation left when I finished Abecdaire. It is Stencil Alphabet from Cross Country Stitching Spring 2000. I am stitching it on 14ct antique white. I got alot done this week as I was off Monday and Friday. This one has been in my to do pile for a long time. I think the green colors attracted me.

I have decided that this year when I loose my stitching chair to the Christmas Tree, I am going to kit up projects to start. I am going to try to add some small and medium ones to hopefully get more finishes in next year. I have 2 in my rotation now that will probably take another year to finish.

Here is my progress on Day. Starting in on the fairy's body.

Thanksgiving this year was the best in quite a while. We did buffet style. All of the kids behaved, plenty of food and time to visit with everyone. Then we were invited to my DH's sister's house for desert. Very nice visit and we made our Christmas plans. Every one in the family seems to be getting along this year. Hope it continues.

My daughter was home from college. She has her own car now and arrived Tuesday afternoon and left early Sunday morning. It was strange watching her drive off and not need me to take her back to school. Wedding plans might be moved back another year as her boyfriend is taking another year of classes to add onto his degree. So it will be at least another year before we get to setting the date and booking the hall. That is ok with me. More time to save up.

Worked on Garden Seed Packets this week. Finished up the second packet and then I got tired of stitching black. Hope I can get into stitching this week's project.

I took my Dad grocery shopping so we could get all of the food for Thanksgiving. We ended up with a 24 pound turkey. This will be my sister and I's seventh year of cooking the Thanksgiving dinner. This year we are going to try serving it buffet style. We have added more tables and chairs. Each year we try to make changes to make it go smoother. As the kids are getting older boyfriends/girlfriends are being added to the guest list. I think we have planned on 28 people coming.

This is my progress on Freight Train. I am chugging right along. I think only working 3 days a week gives me more stitching time. I am not looking forward to going back to working five days a week in January.

I have started my Christmas shopping and hope to have it all completed by the end of November.

Here is Happy Girl. I got to stitch on her for a week and a half. I am very close to a finish. Just a little more of the border and then the backstitching. I should have this one finished during my next rotation.

Friday my sister and I went to Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's. We couldn't believe how crowded the stores were. Hobby Lobby did have all of their Christmas stuff 40-50% off. I picked up a reindeer ornament kit to make with all of the nieces and nephews on Thanksgiving. I also got two different kinds of braid to use for ornaments, some tiny red bells and a piece of cross stitch fabric. At JoAnn's I got some more DMC I needed for my next upcoming start. A very enjoyable time spent with my sister. We need to find something to do for our next days off together.

I finished Abecedaire by Gazette 94 on 10/26/10. This was a fun one to stitch. I am in the process of kitting up my next start to fill this rotation spot. Since I still had several days left in the week for this rotation, I moved on to the next piece early - Happy Girl. I will continue stitching on Happy Girl this week which is my normal week to work on this piece. I have made a lot of progress during these extra days and hope to finish this one before the year ends.

I worked on Day this past week. Missed quite a few days of stitching as I got a bad head cold. Just couldn't concentrate.

On my day off this week, my sister and I visited 3 antique stores. Unbelievable all of the different things that people collect. I was quite impressed at how dust free everything was. Wonder who has the job of dusting off all of the knick nacks, glass ware etc. We didn't buy anything and are still hunting for what we want to get for my daughter's hope chest.

This past week I worked on Garden Seed packets. I have moved on to the Marigolds and their bright orange colors.

Saturday we traveled to Ball State to see my daughter get her award for being on the Dean's List. It is always good to know that your tuition money is not being wasted. We took my father with us so he could see the campus and her dorm room. Spent an enjoyable day visiting with her and her boyfriend.

I am off Monday and Friday of this week. Friday I am going with my sister to visit different antique/junk stores here in town. We have always wanted to do this and now is the time.

This week I worked on Freight Train and finished the 3rd car. This means I am at the halfway point.

Friday was a beautiful day and I went hiking with my sister. We found our way to Huntington Lake as they had a 10 mile trail we wanted to try. It was to go around the lake. Well the trail was not marked good and had been updated and was now combined with a mountain biking trail for a total of 13 miles. We started at 9:30 am and finished up at 4:30. We had to back track a few times as we took wrong turns. So we ended up walking 16 miles. Good thing we took water and snacks. But it was a good way to spend a beautiful day with my favorite sister.

More progress on Happy Girl this week. I am down to the bottom edge.

We had a bonfire at my Dad's on Saturday night. Hot dogs and s'mores. It was good bonfire weather - in the low 40's. All of the kids had a good time.

Looking forward to Friday this week as my Sister and I are going on a 10 mile hike at a new trail for us. Hope the weather cooperates.

This week was my annual trip with my sister to Turkey Run State Park. It was 94! We hiked all of our favorite trails. Found this box turtle along one of the trails. We also saw 5 snakes, 5 caterpillars, 13 toads, 1 tree frog, a raccoon and a vole. We were dripping sweat by the end of the day. Hope I walked off some pounds for my weigh in on Monday.

I worked on Abcedaire this past week and I am close to a finish. Hope to finish it next time it is up in the rotation. Just have the Z box to do and it will be done.

More progress on Day. I really enjoy stitching on this one.

This week I am getting ready to go with my Sister to Turkey Run State Park for our annual hike. I always enjoy this trip.

I am also starting a 10 week weight loss program. I have put on all of the weight I lost last year and am starting to feel bad again. This summer it was so hot I did not get alot of walking and bike riding. Hope to get back on track.

I delayed the start of this week's rotation to work on this freebie kit Foxgloves from World of Cross Stitching #167. I will be mailing it off Monday to a friend. I did get to work on the Garden Seed Packets a few days this week. I have started the second packet.

I did manage to get a little more done on Freight Train this past week. I stopped working on it on Friday so that I could stitch a small gift for a friend. I hope to have it finished today so I can get back to my rotation.

This past week I worked on Happy Girl. I made quite a bit of progress and will be moving my scroll rods again.

Wednesday we travelled to Chicago to see the Tall Ships. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time. I was then off the rest of the week and lazed around the house with a trip to the library and stitching.

Back to work this week. I still have plenty of vacation time to use before the end of the year. I need to look at my calendar and plan more days off.

I feel like I made alot of progress on Abcedairie this past week. I would love to get it finished in my next rotation. That would make it the first finish of 2010.

School starts Monday. I hope our new schedule works out. Then on Wednesday I am off to see the Tall Ships in Chicago. I have been looking forward to this trip for a while. I only have to work Monday & Tuesday. Hope to get some extra stitching time in. I do have a few projects around the house I want to get finished. This is just the start of my 5 weeks of vacation time that I have to use before the end of the year. I need to look at my calendar and plan more time off.

We took my DD back to college Saturday. This will be her 3rd year. The first year we managed to fit all of her stuff in a mini cooper. This year it took 2 cars. I packed most of her stuff in her car and we followed behind in ours with the refrigerator. It was nice and hot to move in. 97. But it was only 2 trips from the cars into her room so within 45 minutes she was all moved in. No roommate yet. We left her there to sweat and headed on to a large flea market in Daleville. Walked around for a while with a few small purchases. Then we headed to White Castle as the boys needed their White Castle fix.

I did stitch on Day this week and it slowly moves on. Trying to catch up today on laundry.

Here is my progress on Garden Seed Packets. I almost have the first one done. Just a little backstitching to go. I also picked up from my lns Summer Garden framed. They always do a wonderful job at reasonable prices. I am trying to get at least one piece framed each year.

Registered my son for high school on Friday. He will get picked up by the bus at 6:45 am. This means I will have to get up even earlier to pry him out of bed. Maybe with my extra time in the morning I will stitch. I will also have to go to bed earlier to keep this schedule.

Stitched this past week on Freight Train. I am working on the 3rd train car.

Sunday we took a day trip to the Wright Patterson Air Force Museum. They had a Stealth Bomber on display. The museum has changed alot since the last time I was there. I think my son was still in diapers the last time we were there. Stopped for a delicious pizza on the way home at Rosati's. We got the Chicago Style pizza. Brought home half a pizza as one piece was all each of us could eat.

Last Sunday my daughter got engaged. No date set as they want to finish college first. They still have 2 years to go. I feel older and older with each new change to our lives.

Once again this week the tempatures were in the 90's. We do not have central air, just a window air conditioner. It gets pretty hot in here by late afternoon. Thursday night at 9:30 I started making cupcakes for my co-workers 40th birthday. I had seen a picture of cupcakes decorated like monkeys in a magazine. I have watched alot of Cake Boss and figured that I too could create masterpieces that would be too pretty to eat. Well my cupcakes did not turn out looking like the picture. By 11:30pm I decided just to make smiley faced cupcakes and move on. They were well received at work and quite tasty. I guess I will not be getting my own cake decorating show. It is harder than it looks.

I did get alot of stitching done this week on Happy Girl. Next time she is up in my rotation I will be moving the scroll rods so I can work on the bottom of the design. I think this one might also get finished this year!

On Saturday I did not have to go to my dad's as he went to the circus for the day with his girlfriend. So I hung a load of laundry out and went to my lns. I took in one of my finished pieces to get framed. I then wandered around the store for an hour looking at everything. A few items did find their way home with me:

3 packs of beads for future projects

Carter Mouse & Friends Celebrations leaflet

Stoney Creek Classic Travel leaflet

Rapunzel; Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty charts all by Sandy Orton.

I found all of these in the clearance bins. When I go back to pick up my framing I will get another chance to see what else will want to come home with me.

Here is my progress on Abecedaire. I got quite a bit done this week. I think I should be able to finish this one this year. It will be my only finish for 2010. I need to add some smaller projects to my rotation.

This week I will be attempting to make Monkey Cupcakes for my co-workers birthday on Friday. I hope they come out close to the picture. After watching Cake Boss and DC Cupcakes I should be qualified to make fancy cupcakes.

Today I am going to try using Ear Candles on my son to get the earwax out. I have tried the ear drops the doctor said to use. But they didn't help at all. They are so blocked he has trouble hearing. If this doesn't work then I will take him to Ready Med and have them power washed. I hope I don't light his hair on fire. My sister, the nurse, tried them out on one of her co-workers and had no problems using them.

I was back to stitching this week on Butterfly Fairies - Day. I really am enjoying this one and managed to make some progress. I still need to get to my lns. I am trying to have one of my finished pieces framed each year. Hopefully some time this month I will get there.

I had planned to go to my LNS to have one of my finishes framed. I hoped this trip would break my stitching slump. Well I did not make it there. Instead I thought if I started a small project that could be finished in a few weeks it might get me going again. So I picked these Garden Seed packets by Joan Elliot (one of my favorite designers). I had all of the materials in my stash. Before I could get started I had to go hang my laundry out to dry. While doing that I got to thinking. What will I do with one of these once finished? I am not good at making flat folds etc. So I decided to stitch them all on one piece of fabric. I have been stitching all week. So I did get out of my stitching slump. But I now have another long term project that I am working on.

I did read alot of books in June. #33 -43 on the above list. I took the bus quite often and of course I was reading at night instead of stitching. I just need more time in my day to do everything I want and need to do.

Here is hoping the in July I will get lots of stitching done.

A pitiful amount of progress on Freight Train. I just don't feel like stitching. I plan on going to my LNS next Saturday. Hope that kick starts me.

I did make a little more progress on Happy Girl this week. If I really worked on it, I think I could finish this one this year. She is supposed to have wings. I haven't decided if I like the wings or will leave them off.

I am back in reading mode and have finished 3 books this week. I made a mistake on my taxes (entered wrong ss number for son) and now have to call the IRS to straighten it out or pay $750 plus interest. I am making the phone call first thing in the morning!

I have two updates to show. For some reason I could not get my picutres to upload last week. I worked on Day last week and made a little more progress. This week was Abcedairie. I didn't get much done. I just haven't felt like stitching alot.

I finished up the second car and did a little back stitching. Only 4 more cars and lots of backstiching to go. So page 1 is complete (except for that backstitching).

We have had beautiful weather this week. High 80's. Hoping for a nice day today as we are cooking out at my dad's.

My progress on Happy Girl by Joan Elliott. I am really enjoying stitching on this one. Having it on the scroll rods does make it go faster. I might have to invest in more scroll rods.

I continue to work on DS bedroom. Another load of garbage out. I only clean each week until I fill the garbage can. Getting down to my stuff that will need sorted.

I am adding another project to my weekend routine - cutting down the grape vine that is growing on the back fence. In the fall I sprayed some weed killer on it. Part of it now looks dead. So I will chop on it (weather permitting) while I am doing laundry.