A New Favorite

 

This might be my new favorite picture of Smokey! I had bought flowers for Mom, but they had gotten too hot in my car. I tossed them in water real fast, and Smokey seemed to sense them, and came running. He definitely loves pretty things!!! I am absolutely positive that he thought they were for him- he kept looking at me with a smile, and would absolutely beam while staring at them for hours! 

  I am sorry for the delay for posting. Working night shift combined with all that comes with learning a new job has been kicking my behind lately! I wish I could say all was fantastic, but there are a few things causing issues. I do love the environment, as well as the patient population. So many of my coworkers are absolutely incredible! One of my preceptors tends to disapear, and they have been amazing about checking on me and helping me out when things start going south with my patient, or if I have a question! I do wish a few things with orientation were different. Honestly, one situation I am put in a lot makes me want to quit. I'm planning on talking to my educator about it soon, in order to provide the best care possible for my patients, I need to learn a lot now. A large barrier to that should be able to be resolved, so heres hoping! 

  In other news, my sister has a doctor's appointment on Wednesday. We are hoping for good news, but she is definitely scared, as is the rest of the family. We would definitely appreciate prayers!

  My schedule is weird this month; I worked Saturday night, was off Sunday, and work the next three nights. The nice thing is that I was able to attend the singing at my church Sunday evening! The down side is staying on a night shift schedule on a day off. I am hoping that next month will be better. And, honestly, as much as I love how much calmer things tend to be on night shift, as well as my night shift peeps, I am hoping that I'll get to move to days. It will be a lot different, but I think I will feel healthier again with that move. 

  How have all of you been? Anything new in your life?

  Happy Stitching!

  Emmy

Pictures Aplenty

  Just so you are well forewarned, this post is going to be of about a zillion pictures. Life has pretty much just consisted of work, school, and family. Mom had her birthday on Feb 17th, and Dad's is fast approaching on the 10th of this month. Kirst has been doing well. Dad's hours have been changed to third shift, so he has had less than time than ever to do anything besides work or sleep. On the up side, he is actually sleeping more once he gets home- he knows from past experience that third shift is not his friend, so he has been taking a little bit better care of himself. At least there is a bright spot to even the bad things! Mom currently is sick. A stomach bug has been making its rounds around the daycare, and of course she ended up with it. The little ones like to cuddle with her, so she tends to catch whatever they have. 

  School has been going well. I have a final this coming week in Critical Thinking. After that, Spring Break!!!!!!!!!! Which will likely be spent doing lots and lots of projects I haven't had time for yet, but I'm hopeful that stitching will be a large part of that!!!!! If nothing else, maybe I will finally knock out the clutter in my bedroom....  After break ends, nutrition class will continue, and my A&P refresher will start. Hopefully, most of it will come flooding back. If not, A&P intrigues me greatly, so I am optimistic that it will be enjoyable. Especially since there will be no Miss Flufflykins to dissect this go round!

  My house is at a bit of a stand still. The weather did not cooperate for the longest time; now, we have some days that are very sunshiney and spring-like, and other days that are rainy, or vacillate between warm and cold. Hopefully, Dad and I will get the blocks laid soon. If we can find a day where he has the time without being too tired, and the weather cooperates, it should be done. Once that is finished, I am hoping that a coworker's husband will be willing to allow me to hire him to do the framing. As much as I wanted this to be a project for Dad and me, and as much as we would have enjoyed the time together, I just don't see us having the time. My coworker's husband frames buildings for a living, so as long as this project isn't too little or odd, and it fits in my budget, I think it will be best for all involved. Dad and I will still have all of the interior stuff to do, so there will still be plenty of work to do!!! Mom has volunteered to help me hang the paneling, or probably shiplap (Pinterest gave me the idea- it looks so cool!), so that will be fun! 

  My fingers are itching to stitch something spring themed. They've been itching to stitch period for a long, long time now. I don't believe I have anything too springy in my stitching bag, but I just might have something close enough to do the trick, if the good people of our ambulance district allow. Earlier, we went on a lady that we brought to the hospital because she was "tired." That's it, no other complaint, just tired. It was a very accurate call for our EMT student to be on. Although, this type of call usually happens in the wee hours of the morning, but this will suffice since the student would not be here then. Then, since I was a bit tired myself, although I did not see the point in an ambulance and ER bill for it, took a nap myself after lunch! All in all, a pretty good day so far!

  I'm not sure if I've posted this already or not, but Ladybug's front left paw has been incredibly swollen. We don't know if she stepped on something, or if Smokey got too rough while they were wrestling, but something injured it. Ironically, her and I were both on prednisone at the same time. As well as basically the same antibiotic (mine was for a lingering sinus infection/ asthma issues; it was lingering because I did not want to go through the hassle of repeatedly explaining that it was not Covid, just my usual annual, or rather up to 3x annual, sinus infection. Not the best long term decision, but at least I did not have to get tested and waste time off of work for it!). Interesting times in the Swisher Household. 

  Now, without further ado, I present: Pictures Aplenty.

She has been keeping Mom company on the couch; here she is wondering where Mom wandered off to while she dozed. 

                                        

ICECREAM!!!!!!!!

Impromptu naps :)

"Aunt Kirstie spoils me!!!!!" ~ Smokey

Kirst took this gorgeous picture the other day!

This works well, right?

Box!!!!!!!

They're just about the same size now! Ladybug is too polite to wake Smokey up to play, although he has no qualms about waking her up, or anyone else for that matter, when he wants to play. 

"Sup, Mom"

How dare you distract me from bird watching!!!

My current mood as well, little buddy. 

"For the thousandth time, Mom, the Queen does what she wants when she wants. So, no, I do not know why the house being destroyed is my fault."

Trying to look serious for the portrait that will be printed on Her Royal Highness' coins.

Road trip!!!

So much to see! Good thing she travels well, and likes the vet!

Pretty eyes!

Helpin' Marmoo make the bed... and possibly testing it out...

Someone had to help with the laundry...

Can't...go...on...much...longer!

Normal paw vs. Ginormica paw

"Where'd she go?"

New bow tie!!!!

At least they were dirty....

Mandatory meeting: plants are friends, not food.

String!!!!!

A paw!!!!

Someone walking by!!!!

This is how this works, right?

These treats are subpar, Mother, I expect fresh caught fish.

Why can't you fish?

I think they've gotten this whole exercise-bike thing figured out!

Posing for his picture!

   I hope that all of you are doing fantastic, and that spring is headed your way! I hope we all get plenty of stitching in today as well!!!!!! Have a wonderful day!

Happy Stitching,

 Emmy

Kitties and Stitching

      A very good combo indeed! Mr. Smokey required lots of cuddles- and his fuzzy blanket- on my days off.                        

                                                 

  Ladybug found it quite necessary to guide my package that came. She was using it as a temporary throne. This Queen may not wear a crown, but she does require a throne!

                                                 

  The Queen did remember us peasants when it came time to unload groceries and bring them in the house the other day. 

 I do not remember if I posted my Singing in the Rain finish here or not. I can't find a decent photo on my phone, or I would post one now. I must have accidentally deleted the more recent photos of it. 

  I did start this: 

  I finished Singing in the Rain before Christmas, and started this one (Baby, It's Cold Outside by Heartstring Samplery) around the same time. It is hard to see, but the linen is sparkly! I'm using 32 ct Raw Silver Belfast linen. For threads I am using DMC 869, 816, 730, 728, and either 712 or 3033. I am also using Petite Treasure Braid 300 for the snow. Can't have too many sparkles!!!

  I also got Mom various dinosaur/nessie sppons and things. Here is noodle Nessie enjoying her first sauna!

  Last, but not least, Robin, thank you for the lovely card!!! It made my day! That was incredibly sweet of you! I would post a picture here, but alas, it is at home, and I am not. 

  Well, I do not have much else to say. I am at work, and several of the shift's circumstances are suboptimal. That said, I am determined to have a good a day as possible!

  

I hope all of you are staying warm and safe! 

 Happy Stitching!

 Emmy

So much excitement!

 I have much excitement to tell you about! So, first of all, I am building a house. Well, sort of. It all started when I asked Mom to think about my buying us a shed we could use as a craft studio. I knew I did not have enough money saved up to buy a house and feel comfortable doing so with school. But, having a craft studio would be awesome, and give myself, and Mom, more space. Mom thought about it for a few days, then asked why not buy a shed and convert it into a house for myself? So, long story short, I now have a deposit down on a shed kit. I was going to buy it outright, but it is currently backordered due to lumber shortages, so when I called the guy asked if I wanted to do a deposit for now so that all of the money will not be tied up while I wait. It made sense to me, so that is what we did. Right now, they are thinking that it will ship in October, but it all depends on when they can get the lumber. Hopefully, either October or earlier. This gives me time to work on the groundwork. My hope is that myself, and hopefully my Dad, can get the foundation ready, and have all of the pipes and such in place by the time it arrives. Then I won't have to figure out how to store it- assembly can begin instead!

  Yesterday, Banjo, Guinea, and Peppy arrived for the groundbreaking ceremony. Banjo's orange ball was the special guest, and the puppies watched from afar. 

  This is what the kit is:

  It has a full loft, which is ideal for me, since it will be my house!!!! My plan is to have an open floor plan downstairs, with the exception of the bathroom. Upstairs, I will probably use giant curtains or screens to block the storage/closet area. I'm hoping to do fairy lights upstairs; I think that will look really cool!

I'm thinking maybe these windows- they have... something that makes them not let heat and air escape.

A screen door something like this, but waaaaay cheaper. I think it would pop with the red behind; what do you think?

  Downstairs will host the kitchen, living room, and bathroom. I am buying my own windows and doors. The windows they have are cute with the shutters, but they are single pane and I can buy shutters later. The door looks cool, but I can save a few hundred buying one elsewhere. I'll probably go with a small window in the door. While I love the idea of how much sunlight the french doors would let in, there has been a lot more violence in this general area, so something a little more solid feels better to me. My plan is to paint the door a cheerful red and do a white screen door over it. I'm going to do things in stages, so the screen door will likely wait a while, as will the shutters. Shoot, for that matter, kitchen cabinets may wait a bit. I want to be able to pay for everything in full at the time of purchase, and still have a bit tucked back for nursing school. If needed, I will do a school loan, but those things are a pain to do, and I am not a fan of paying interest. Granted, I'll run things through my credit card, but that is because the rewards points convert to gift cards, which can then be used to buy stuff I need for the house. And I'll pay the credit card off right away, which makes my credit score happy, and prevents interest from being applied. When did I start using words like "rewards points," "interest," and "credit scores" so often?!? 

  Anyway, when I get shutters, I would like to pain them to match the door. I'm planning on painting house a light blue or blueish gray. For the inside, I think I will do hardwood, or something that looks like hardwood. I'm not sure what will be budget-friendly, last very well, and survive Smokey's claws, especially since the turd pulls his Purrdy Paws off. I'm not sure what colors I will paint the inside yet. I'm not even sure if I will hang drywall, or use bead board for the inside. There are a lot of unknowns, and a ton of excitement!!!!!

  It rained some today, and will be raining a good chunk of this coming week. I'm hoping it will make the ground soft. Getting the layer with the grass up was not hard, but under that layer is rocky (this is Missouri after all) with almost rock-hard soil. As my neighbor used to say, "If it wasn't for all of the rocks, all of the big farmers in Kansas would own this land, so I am thankful for the rocks." I have not quite reached the point of being super thankful for the rocks yet. ;) Maybe soon.

  No stitchy progress for the day. I am at work, so I decided to try to take a nap, but that was a sad 45 minutes of disappointment. Should've stitched instead. Oh well, perhaps I will get some stitching in tonight; we shall see! 

The baby has not been acting as peppy, and cries quite a bit. We have been letting him into the mud room to drink some kitten milk replacer. This has helped, but he still eats dirt, so I am planning on bringing him to the vet. On the upside, he loves car rides, and makes Kirst and Dad give him a short ride whenever they leave for work. 

Smokey is NOT happy with allowing Jitterbug in the house. 

Look, Mom, I'm a flower!

My cousin's bum is crushing me.

He regretted trying this- his balance is that of a drunk newborn giraffe.

He guarded the produce while carried the rest inside. 

Ignore the weeds please. :) 

Jittergbug loves helping in the garden. He gets mad if I go in there without him. 

Nap time that almost gave me a heart attack. 

Has anyone else been having issues with really weird cucumbers this year?

Big smile for the camera!

    I hope all of you are safe, happy, and well!

~ Emmy