Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Happy Tuesday!

Hi all,
How's everyone doing this fine Tuesday evening?  I understand that for the next few days it's supposed to be a bit cooler and not humid outside.  I for one, am looking forward to that.  How about you?  Do you love or hate the heat and humidity?  Not that it really matters, because there's not one single thing we can do about the weather.

I can't believe that it's almost the end of August 2015, can you?  Just six more days until September 1st.  One of my daughters has been posting, for months now, posts about Christmas.  I know that some people don't like them, but, to be truthful, I love them.  Thinking about the Christmas holidays makes me feel joyful.  Oh, it's not about the gift giving, although I do love to give gifts to my family, but it's more about the joy that most people feel at that time of year.  It's a celebration of Christ's birth and it's also a celebration of love and peace for all mankind.  At least that's what it should be!  I have to tell you all that I started creating Christmas gifts back in January.  In the past few months I've purchased a few gifts for my family, but I really don't buy gifts like I used to do.  They get a few small gifts and then a monetary gift.  My Grandsons would rather have either a gift card or a gift of cash anyways.  How about your Grand  kids?

I'm still working on my hand embroidery, which will be used as gifts for Christmas.  I'm on the down side of the bedspread that I'm making for myself.  Hopefully in the next few weeks, I will have finished it.  When that happens, I'll post a photograph of it for all of you to see.  Have you ever tried hand embroidery, or crocheting, or making a garment on a sewing machine?  If not, you don't know what you're missing.  It is so fulfilling when you create something either for yourself or for another person, that's hand made.  Try it, you may just love it and people do so appreciate hand made items.

I'm already starting to think about what my next project just may be.  With winter coming, I like to have something to work on during those long winter evenings and weekends.  Any suggestions?  Of course, I will soon have to start creating my handmade Christmas cards.  I generally make around 80 of them and that takes me some time.  I will create about four or so of each style.  I need to soon come up with some styles that I'd like to use.  Have you ever tried making your own Christmas cards?  If not, you should.  It's very rewarding!

Tomorrow is Hump Day.  So for all you working folks out there, you know what that means:  After tomorrow, you will be on the downward slope of the work week, and that's a good thing.

I hope the rest of your week will go well for you and that you all have a great weekend.  I suppose the pools will soon be closing for the season.  Most of the schools, in my area, have already started.  Be safe and stay healthy and well.
Susan

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Are you at a stand-still?

Hi everyone,

How's your Wednesday evening going thus far?  I hope the answer from all of you is:  Good!  Mine is going pretty well.  I suppose you are wondering what I mean from my title!  Well, I suppose I could say that I am now at a stand-still with the publishing of my newest novel, "Prolonged Uncertainties."  I finished the second proof reading of the manuscript and I've completed the front and back covers.  So, now I need to review the text pages once more to make sure that the spacing is correctly done, from start to finish.  I can never figure out how they get all messed up on their own...

I am thinking that I may wait until the end of September or beginning of October to send it to the publishers.  I think I'm only going to have about twenty four copies printed this time.  Hopefully I will be able to sell the 24 copies to my family and loyal friends.  I will be putting it on KDP Amazon for electronic reading only.  I really don't want to be bothered with trying to sell the actual book on Amazon. 

I'm very excited about this novel, as I've stepped out of the box a bit with this one.  I hope my faithful readers will enjoy this change of venue from me.  I certainly enjoyed writing this one just as much, if not more, than all the others I've written.  In case you don't know, you can access any of my adult novels, children's novels, self help booklets, religious booklets and my poetry book by going to:  www.Amazon.com.  Once on their site, you can enter my full name into the search block and click to do the search.  All of my books and booklets will come up.  They are only for electronic reading though.  Did you know that you can read electronically on a laptop, PC, tablet, Iphone, Ipad, etc.  You don't need a Kindle or any other specific electronic reader.  You just need to download the Kindle app to get started.  Also, you can just borrow any of my books by signing up and using the Kindle Lending Library service that's available on Amazon.  Check it out.

I'm still doing my hand embroidery work.  I can't begin to tell you how very much I love doing these projects.  It's so comforting to me to sit and embroider.  I'm still working on my bedspread, but it's coming along very well.  I expect to complete it before too long.  Maybe in another month I will have it finished.  I'm excited to see it once it's completed.  I'll post a photo of it at that time, so you all can see how it turned out. 

Well, we're now on the short side of the work week, so all of you who still have jobs to go to five days a week, you can now breathe easy.  Just two more work days this week.  Don't think about next week, it will come soon enough!

Be safe and may God remain with each one of you.
Susan

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Are you ready for the weekend?

Happy Thursday everyone,

One more work day for most of you and then you can start your weekend.  I know that's a happy thought for all of you, because that's how I thought when I was still working.  The trouble was that the weekends went entirely too fast, compared to the work week.  Oh well, there's not much we can do about that, now is there?

I watched the five o'clock news tonight and they are calling for the weather to get quite hot and humid starting on Sunday.  I suppose that's what they call the "Sultry days of August."  Whatever they want to call them, I'm not liking it one little bit.  I am so ready for summer to end and for us to have some cooler weather. A high temperature in the low 70's would be so nice about now.  Our new air conditioner needs a little rest period.   How about yours?

I have to tell you all, that I now have all thirty of my hand-embroidered squares attached to my bedspread.  I still have eight of them to blanket stitch yet, but I'm getting excited to finally finish it.  Although I have to say that I'm not in any big hurry to completeit.  I don't plan on using it until next summer anyways.

Have you ever tried hand-embroidering?  It's quite relaxing and it's such a good feeling to see a finished piece, whether it's a large project or a small one.  Don't knock it if you haven't ever tried it!
So, give it a try!
Here's one of my hand embroidered towels:


I can't believe that August is almost half over already.  Most of the local schools are getting ready to reopen for the 2015/2016 school year.  I'm sure the kiddos aren't too happy about this fact, but it's just the way things are.  Personally, I think it's good for kids to have a structured schedule, such as going to school each day.  Too much free time makes them lazy and only gets them into trouble.  That's just my opinion.

If you wanted to do something new, in the crafting line, what would it be?  I don't think I have any ambition to start anything new, partly because I've done so very many crafting projects over my lifetime.  I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed all of them.  I would like to get back to my art work, especially doing pencil art.  Maybe this fall I will give that a go once again.

I am finished proofreading my manuscript.  Now the next thing I need to do is to make a back cover for it.  I haven't really settled on what that will be yet.  I have to think about that for a few days.  I probably won't have it published until towards the end of September, although I may put it on Amazon KDP for electronic reading before then.  If I do, I'll let you all know when it's available.

I sincerely hope you all have a great weekend.  Be safe and may God bless you all.
Susan

Monday, August 10, 2015

Another Monday is about to bite the dust!

Good evening all,

Another Monday is about to bite the dust, which I'm sure many of you are happy about.  As for me, it doesn't really matter one way or the other.  Monday is my wash day and I have to say it's been my wash day for many, many years.  I certainly am a creature of habit.  I like routine in my life. I truly don't do well flying by the seat of my britches.  How about you?  I know it takes all kinds of people to make the world go round! 

Today's been a funny day, weather wise, here in South Central Pennsylvania.  The sun was shining for awhile, then it became cloudy, and then the sun was shining and then, once again, it was cloudy.  They are calling for some heavy storms to pass over us during the nighttime hours.  We need the rain, so I guess that's a good thing.  How's the weather been where you live? 

I have to admit that I'm ready for the temperatures to come down a bit.  I can hardly believe that today is the tenth of August already.  Speaking of the date today, it is my youngest daughter's birthday today.  She's now forty three years old, but I can still remember the day she was born.  It certainly doesn't seem like forty three years ago.  How, exactly, can I be so old???? 

What have you all been up to lately, anything creative?  I certainly hope so because I am always doing something creative.  I need to pin the last ten squares onto the bedspread I'm making.  Hopefully I'll get to that one day this week.  I am completely finished with the hand embroidered pillow I was making for my husband's great grandson.  It contains his name and birth information.  Now he needs to take it to the post office and mail it.

I'm also still working on embroidering kitchen towels to use as Christmas gifts.  I so enjoy embroidering while I watch television in the evenings.  It's so relaxing to me and I accomplish gifts for Christmas at the same time.  So, how good is that, not only relaxing, but also finishing gifts for the future. 

If you've never tried embroidery, perhaps you should.  Most of you working Moms need something to help you relax in the evening and this works, well, once you get the hang of it.  Try it, you'll see!
There is nothing quite as satisfying as creating your own gifts for Christmas. 

I've finished my second proof reading job on my newest novel.  My next step is to check out the covers, front and back, to make sure they are good.  I can't even remember, right at this moment, if I even made a back cover yet.  Oh well, if not, I'll just have another project to get started.  I'm not in any huge hurry to have it published, as long as it is before the end of the year.  Here's a photo of the front cover:


Have you ever tried a new craft?  If not, you really should, whether you're female or male.  It's quite an accomplishment creating something handmade.  Try it and lety me know how it makes you feel.

I do hope your week will go well and if not, the weekend will be here before you know it.  Stay safe and may God bless each of you.
Susan

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

What is your passion?

Hi all,

Think about your answer before you give one.  When I was younger, I thought that most peoples passion was what they did for a living.  You know, the young adult who goes to college to become a doctor or a nurse because that what they've always wanted to be;  or the young adult who go on to play professional baseball, basketball, football, golf, tennis, etc. because that's what they've always loved to do. 

I didn't find out the truth, until I was in my late 30's, early 40's.  I took a class on finding our passion and practicing it.  What I learned was that you don't have to make your living by doing your passion.  You just need to practice your passion in your free time. 

Do you know what your passion is?  I've always known what I was passionate about.  It was anything creative:  painting, sewing, drawing, embroidery, writing, anything in the creative line.  But, for a living I did bookkeeping/accounting.

When I was in grade and high school, my highest grades were always in mathematics, but I really didn't love it.  It certainly was not my passion.  I'm glad that I was good at math because it has helped me with all our financial resources.  So, I am grateful that God let me be good in math because it's very important in your financial life.

But, I am so grateful for my creative abilities.  They give me my self-worth and for that I am so thankful to God every day.  I'll never be a well known author, but that's okay with me.  I'm doing what God wants me to do and that's all that matters.

So, what are you passionate about?  Are you practicing it daily?  Do you earn a living performing it?  If not, don't worry because it's really not necessary to earn your living doing your passion.  Just do it as often as you find the time. 

As for me, I'm still working on my bed-covering with hand embroidered squares.  I'm also working on some hand embroidered Christmas gifts and I just finished a sampler, which I am making into a pillow for my husbands great grandson.  It will state his full name, date of birth, weight and length.  The embroidery part is all done, now I just need to complete the pillow.  Then my husband will mail it to them in California.

How's your week progressing thus far?  My week is going fine.  My sister, Carol, spent almost five hours with me yesterday, but she didn't come in today.  As of now, she is planning on returning to North Carolina on Thursday.  She's been up in PA for about five weeks now.  I will miss her when she goes back home. 

Well, I'm going to say good night to you all now.  Remember that tomorrow is "hump day," so after that, you'll be on the short end of the work week.  Be safe and give thanks to God for all His blessings.
Susan

Here's a photo of a pillow I make some years ago for myself and my daughters.