Books: 2010 Reads (Before Blog)

Most recent reads at the top . . .

1. Storm Warning (39 Clues) - Park
2. Prisoner's Base (A Nero Wolfe Mystery) - Stout
3. 62 Projects to Make with a Dead Computer - Sarafan
4. Stitch-opedia: The Only Embroidery Reference You'll Ever Need - Kendrick
5. The Double Comfort Safari Club - McCall Smith
6. Disney in Shadow - Pearson
7. A River in the Sky - Peters
8. Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane - Collins
9. The Sword Thief (39 Clues) - Lerangis
10. The Second Confession (A Nero Wolfe Mystery) - Stout
11. Family Feasts for $75 a Week - Ostyn
12. Miss Julia Renews Her Vows - Ross
13. Death of a Doxy (A Nero Wolfe Mystery) - Stout
14. In the Best Families (A Nero Wolfe Mystery) - Stout
15. Swapping Stories: Folktales from Louisiana
16. Complete Guide to Embroidery Stitches - Campbell
17. The God of the Hive (A Mary Russell Novel) - King
18. The Mapping of Love and Death (A Maisie Dobbs Novel) - Winspear
19. The Mother Hunt (A Nero Wolfe Mystery) - Stout
20. Slow Death by Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things - Smith
21. Sprinkle With Murder - McKinlay
22. The Viper's Nest (39 Clues) - Lerangis
23. Glazed Murder - Beck
24. The Emperor's Code (39 Clues) - Korman
25. The Independence of Miss Mary Bennett - McCullough
26. Mother's Best:  Comfort Food That Takes You Home Again - Schroeder
27. Kneadlessly Simple:  Fabulous, Fuss-Free, No-Knead Breads - Baggett
28. Clouds of Witness - Sayers
29. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation - Willig
30. The Intrigue at Highbury or, Emma's Match - Bebris
31. Starter Vegetable Gardens:  24 No-Fail Plans for Small Organic Gardens - Pleasant
32. Sew Deadly - Casey
33. Cat Among the Pigeons (A Hercule Poirot Mystery) - Christie
34. The Last Illusion - Bowen
35. The Louisiana Seafood Bible: Crawfish - Horst
36. Death of a Valentine - Beaton
37. Holly Clegg's Trim and Terrific Gulf Coast Favorites - Clegg
38. The View from Saturday - Konigsburg
39. The Cross Gardener - Wright
40. Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart - Pattillo
41. Clara's Kitchen:  Wisdom, Memories & Recipes from the Great Depression - Cannucciari
42. Apple Turnover Murder - Fluke
43. Glorious Grits - Americas Favorite Comfort Food - McIntosh
44. Jane Austen Ruined My Life - Pattillo
45. Krewe:  The Early New Orleans Carnival:  Comus to Zulu - Laborde
46. 1001 Things Everyone Should Know About the South - Reed
47. Love Soup - 160 All-New Vegetarian Recipes - Thomas
48. Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook - Hensperger
49. Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Cookbook - Macomber
50. The New Greek Cuisine - Botsacos
51. Simple Chinese Cooking - Kwong
52. A Right to Die (A Nero Wolfe Mystery) - Stout
53. The Father Hunt (A Nero Wolfe Mystery) - Stout
54. Gambit (A Nero Wolfe Mystery) - Stout
55. Crocodile Tears - Horowitz
56. Louisiana: Off the Beaten Path: A Guide to Unique Places - Martin
57. Mardi Gras in New Orleans: An Illustrated History - Hardy
58. Cherries in Winter: My Family's Recipe for Hope in Hard Times - Colon
59. Sweet Gratitude:  Bake a Thank-You for the Really Important People in Your Life - Sutton
60. Facebook for Dummies - Abram
61. Make it Fast, Cook it Slow - O'Dea

Books: 2009 Reads

1. And Be a Villain (A Nero Wolfe Mystery) - Stout
2. The Golden Spiders (A Nero Wolfe Mystery) - Stout
3. The Christmas Cookie Club - Pearllman
4. The Pioneer Woman Cooks:  Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl - Drummond
5. Please Pass the Guilt (A Nero Wolfe Mystery) - Stout
6. The League of Frightened Men (A Nero Wolfe Mystery) - Stout
7. Fer-de-Lance (A Nero Wolfe Mystery) - Stout
8. One Wintry Night - Graham
9. The Mysterious Benedict Cociety and the Prisoner's Dilemma - Stewart
10. The Chocolate Cupid Killings (A Chocoholic Mystery) - Carl
11. The Book of Air and Shadows - Gruber
12. Ringing in Murder - Kingsbury
13. Emeril 20-40-60: Fresh Food Fast - Lagasse
14. Under a Cajun Moon - Clark
15. Decked with Folly - Kingsbury
16. The Perfect Christmas - Macomber
17. Confections of a Closet Master Baker - Bullock-Prado
18. Mistletoe Murder - Meier
19. The Kind Diet - Siverstone
20. Crescent City Farmers Market Cookbook - Tooker
21. Pemberley Manor - Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice Continued - Nelson
22. Cooking the Lebanese Way - Amari
23. The Deen Bros Take It Easy - Deen
24. Too Many Cooks (A Nero Wolfe Mystery) - Stout
25. In Too Deep (39 Clues series) - Watson
26. The Silent Speaker (A Nero Wolfe Mystery) - Stout
27. Might As Well Be Dead (A Nero Wolfe Mystery) - Stout
28. The Final Deduction (A Nero Wolfe Mystery) - Stout
29. Sacred: New Orleans Funerary Grounds - Huston
30. Cooking the Mexican Way - Coronado
31. Playing With Paper: Innovative Ideas for Using Patterned Paper in Your Scrapbooks - Wigginton
32. Complete Guide to Embroidery Stitches - Campbell
33. Too Many Women (A Nero Wolfe Mystery) - Stout
34. Reindeer Crunch and Other Christmas Recipes - Johnson
35. Feast: Food That Celebrates Life - Lawson
36. A Taste of Fame - Shepherd
37. The Christmas Sweater - Beck
38. Trouble's Brewing - Shepherd
39. Takes the Cake - Shepherd
40. Kill Me Tender: A Murder Mystery Featuring the Singin Sleuth Elvis Presley - Klein
41. Cooking Dinner: Simple Italian Family Recipes Everyone Can Make - Pruett
42. Cajun and Creole Cooking with Miss Edie and the Colonel - Hand
43. Sheer Folly (A Daisy Dalrymple Mystery) - Dun
44. Abita Beer, Cooking Louisiana True
45. Plum Pudding Murder - Fluke
46. A Slice of Murder - Cavender
47. Eco-Craft: Recycle-Recraft-Restyle - Wasinger
48. Pie: 300 tried-and-true recipes for delicious homemade pie - Haedrich
49. Money for Nothing - Westlake
50. The House That Cleans Itself - Clark
51. Cream Puff Murder - Fluke
52. The Facttracker - Eaton
53. The Rubber Band (A Nero Wolfe Mystery) - Stout
54. The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections - Soule
55. The Happy Camper: An Essential Guide to Life Outdoors - Callan
56. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - Lewis
57. The Horse and His Boy - Lewis
58. Baking Cakes in Kigali - Parkin
59. LebanEase Cuisine: The Ease in Modern Lebanese Cooking - Khatib
60. Swan for the Money - Andrews
61. The Devil's Novice - Peters
62. A Bride in the Bargain - Gist
63. Abigail and John: Portrait of a Marriage - Gelles
64. Because of Winn Dixie - DiCamillo
65. Lebanese Mountain Cookery - Hamady
66. Oobleck, Slime and Dancing Spaghetti: 20 Terrific At-Home Science Experiments - Williams
67. The Rule of Benedict - Benedict, Saint, Abbot of Monte Cassino
68. Soup, A Way of Life - Kafka
69. Death of a Witch - Beaton
70. New Orleans Classic Gumbos and Soups - Wohl
71. Cookies to Die For! - Shaffer
72. 'Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy, and Other Misheard Lyrics - Edwards
73. Martha Stewart's Cupcakes - Stewart
74. Guide to the National Parks of the United States
75. What to Read When: The Books and Stories to Read with Your Child and All the Best Times to Read Them - Allyn
76. Gregor the Overlander - Collins
77. Artemis Fowl: The Artic Incident - Colfer
78. Adventure According to Humphrey - Birney
79. In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead -
80. Bringing Tuscany Home - Mayes
81. Robin Rescues Dinner - Miller
82. Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook
83. The Healthy Dog Cookbook - Anne
84. Finger Lickin' Fifteen (Stephanie Plum series) - Evanovich
85. Royal Flush - Bowen
86. Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station - Gilman
87. Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day - Hertzberg
88. The People in Pineapple Place - Lindbergh
89. King of Shadows - Cooper
90. Trouble According to Humphrey - Birney
91. The Sword Thief (39 Clues series) Lerangis
92. Cooking Up a Storm: Recipes Lost and Found from The Times-Picayune of New Orleans
93. Wormy Apple Croissants and Other Halloween Recipies - Larrew
94. Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites - De Laurentiis
95. Down Home with the Neeley's: A Southern Family Cookbook - Neely
96. Semi Homade Grilling 2 - Lee
97. The Hand in Glove (A Nero Wolfe Mystery) - Stout
98. The Tale of Despereaux - DiCamillo
99. The Language of Bees (A Mary Russell Novel) - King
100. The Hunt for Dark Infinity - Dashner
101. Miss Julia Delivers the Goods - Ross
102. Fatally Flaky - Davidson
103. Can't Never Tell: A Southern Fried Mystery) - Pickens
104. Eggs in Purgatory - Childs
105. Trumpet of the Swan - White
106. Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts
107. Harumi's Japanese Cooking - Kurihara
108. The Eye of the Forest - Kerr
109. In a Gilded Cage - Bowen
110. The Glitch in Sleep - Hulme
111. Dog On It: A Chet and Bernie Mystery - Quinn
112. Best Friends and Drama Queens - Cabot
113. Delirious New Orleans: Manifesto for an Extraordinary American City - Verderber
114. If You Are Reading This, It is Too Late - Bosch
115. The Bread Machine Cookbook - German
116. Manna from Hades - Dunn
117. One False Note (39 Clues) - Korman
118. Bean There, Done That - Balzo
119. H.I.V.E.: Higher-Institute-of-Villainous Education - Walden
120. Moonlight and the Magic Flute (Magic Treehouse series) - Osborne
121. The Mournful Teddy - Lamb
122. New Orleans Goes to the Movies:  Film Sites in the French Quarter and Beyond - Leonhard
123. Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones - Sanderson
124. The Survivors Club:  The Secrets and Science That Could Save Your Live - Sherwood
125. Simply Delicioso: A Collection of Everyday Recipies with a Latin Twist - Hoffman
126. Amy Butler's In Stitches:  More than 25 Simple and Stylish Sewing Projects - Butler
127. Into the Dark (Echo Falls Mystery) - Abrahams
128. Plum Spooky - Evanovich
129. Cream Puff Murder - Fluke
130. The Complete Idiots Guide to Geocaching - Peters
131. Among the Mad - Winspear
132. The wisdom of Father Dowling - McInerny
133. Cat Playing Cupid - Murphy
134. The Fire Kimono - Rowland
135. Cooking Light Weeknight
136. Jamie at Home:  Cook Your Way to the Good Life - Jamie Oliver
137. The Maze of Bones (39 Clues Series) - Rick Riordan
138. New Orleans Classic Seafood:  Recipes from Favorite Restarants - Kit Wohl
139. Let Them Eat Cake - Sandra Byrd

2010 DVDs

Sharpe's Regiment (Sharpe's Rifles series)
Sharpe's Siege (Sharpe's Rifles series)
Sharpe's Mission (Sharpe's Rifles series)
Hurricane Season
Sherlock Holmes (Downey and Law)
Adam
Is Anybody There?
The North Avenue Irregulars
The Blind Side
A Murder of Quality
A Fine Romance (Judi Dench - BBC)
The Young Victoria
Foyle's War - Season 6
Midsomer Murders - Set 15
The Widow's Might
The House of Eliott - Season 3
The Men Who Stare at Goats
George Gently - Series 2
Campion - Season 2
The House of Elliot - Season 2
Hachi: A Dog's Tale
Strong Poison
Good News
Lark Rise to Cancleford - Season 1
Disney's The Princess and the Frog
Murdoch Mysteries - Season 2
Kingdom - Series 3
Where the Wild Things Are
In Bruges
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries - Season 4
Inspector Morse - Cherubim and Seraphim
Inspector Morse - Death of the Self
Lord Peter Wimsey - The Nine Tailors
Lord Peter Wimsey - Five Red Herrings
Lord Peter Wimsey - Murder Must Advertise
Under the Sea
Dalziel and Pasco - Season 1
Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries - Set One
Taggart - Episodes 63 - 70 (2003 - 2004)
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Billy: The Early Years
The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit
Gaudy Night
How About You
Greyfriars Bobby
Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries - Seasons 1 - 7 (1983 - 1997)
All Creatures Great and Small - Season 7
Inspector Morse - The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn
Inspector Morse - Driven to Distraction
Lord Peter Wimsey: Have His Carcase
Emma
X-Men Origins:  Wolverine
Pride and Prejudice
Trial and Retribution - Series 1 - 4
Sense and Sensibility
WW II in HD
Waking the Dead - Season 2
Waking the Dead - Season 1
Cranford: Return to Cranford
Bright Star
The Darling Buds of May
All Creatures Great and Small - Season 6
Acting Shakespeare - GREAT!!
Northanger Abbey
Rebus - Set 3
Rebus - Set 1
All Creatures Great and Small - Season 5
All Creatures Great and Small - Season 4
Doc Martin - Series 3
Persuasion
My Sister's Keeper
The Pallisers - Set One (Episodes 1 - 8)
Emma
Midsomer Murders - Set 14
Lark Rise to Candleford - Season 2
Lewis and Clark:  The Journey of the Corps of Discovery
Julie and Julia
Beyond Christmas
The Invisibles
Star Trek
Rebus - Set 2
Sharpe's Gold (Sharpe's Rifles series)
Sharpe's Battle(Sharpe's Rifles series)
Sharpe's Sword(Sharpe's Rifles series)

Doc Martin - Series 2
Be My Valentine Charlie Brown
All Creatures Great and Small - Season 3
All Creatures Great and Small - Season 2
All Creatures Great and Small - Season 1
Sharpe's Company (Sharpe's Rifles series)
Leatherheads
Funny People
New Tricks - Season 2
Pie in the Sky - Series 2
Veggie Tales: Silly Little Thing Called Love
Faith Like Potatoes
Night at the Museum Battle of the Smithsonian
Hal Holbrook int eh CBS Television Network Special Mark Twain Tonight - GREAT!!
Lovejoy - Season 6
New Tricks - Season 1
Doc Martin - Series 1
Jonathan Creek - Season 4
Jonathan Creek - Season 3
Jonathan Ceek - Season 2
Jonathan Creek - Season 1
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
The Nanny Diaries
Anne of Green Gables: A New Begining
Cranford
Inspector Lewis - Series 2
Up

2009 DVDs

Midsomer Murders - Set 13
Make Mine Music
The Wedding Night
Uncle Nino
The Most Wonderful Time of Year
How to Steal a Million
The Lost and Found Family
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
One Christmas
Thoroughly Modern Millie
Easy Living
Campion - Season 2
Monsters vs. Aliens
Veggie Tales - Saint Nicholas: A Story of Joyful Giving
NCIS - Season 6
Into the Storm
Inspector Lewis - Series 1
The National Parks: America's Best Idea
Murder by Death
Children of the New Forest
Coral Island
Wallander
Land of the Lost - Season 3 (the old Saturday morning kids show)
Da Vinci's Inquest - Season 2
Great American Senic Railroads - Great Mississippi and Shendandoah
Eleventh Hour
Land of the Lost - Season 1 (the old Saturday morning kids show)
A Touch of Frost - Season 14
Every Picture Tells a Story
The Mikado
Meet Me in St. Louis
Lost in the Woods (the movie)
The Canterville Ghost
A Child's Christmas in Wales
Da Vinci's Inquest (Canada) - Season 3
Kingdom - Series 2
Duplicity
Chariots of Fire
Flywheel
Cats
Penelope
Godspell
Labou
Wycliffe - Series 1
Blue Murder - Season 4
Blue Murder - Season 3
American Roadtrip - Mount Rushmore
NCIS - Season 5
Becket
Legend of the Louisiana Honey Island Swamp Monster
Sunshine Cleaning
A Touch of Frost - Season 1
The Adams Chronicles
Blue Murder - Season 1
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries - Season 6
NCIS - Season 4
Blue Murder - Season 2
Expelled - No Intelligence Allowed
Miss Marple - The Body in the Library
Miss Marple - A Pocketful of Rye
A Certian Justice (Inspector Dalgliesh)
Abbot and Costello - One Night in the Tropics & Buck Privates
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Confessions of a Shopaholic
New in Town
Coraline
The Lady Eve
Murdoch Mysteries - Season 1
She Stoops to Conquer
The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies
George Gently - Series 1
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman - All 4 Feature-Length Dramas)
P.S. I Love You
Pie in the Sky - Season 1
Train Master
NCIS - Season 2
Father Brown - Season 2
Father Brown - Season 1
Sunday in the Park with George
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Inspector Morse - Masonic Mysteries
Drive Thru History - Columbus, the Pilgrims, and early Boston
Bertie and Elizabeth:  The Story of King George VI & Queen Elizabeth
Drive Thru History - Patriots, Penn, and the Freedom Trail
Flash of Genius
Monsignor Renard
On an Island with You
Campion - Season 1
A Touch of Frost - Season 6
The Dick Van Dyke Show - Season 1
A Woman Called Golda
Inspector Morse - Sins of the Fathers
The Pink Panther 2 (Steve Martin)
The Lost Prince
NCIS - Season 1
Nights in Rodanthe
Veggie Tales - Abe and the Amazing Promise
Lovejoy - Season 4
Lovejoy - Season 3
Frost/Nixon
The Librarian: Quest for the Spear
Bride Wars
Lost in Austen
The Reluctant Dragon
In the Electric Mist
Last Chance Harvey
The Way Back Home
Lovejoy - Season 5
The Black Hole
Emma
A Little Night Music
Lord Peter Wimsey - The Nine Tailors
The House of Elliott - Season 1
Emma
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Company: A Musical Comedy
Inspector Morse - Promised Land
City of Ember
Inspector Morse - Fat Chance
Everything is Illuminated
The Murdoch Mysteries Movie Collection
Murder Most English
Pollyanna
A Certain Justice (Inspector Dalgliesh)
Rosmary and Thyme - Season 2
Sharpe's Enemy (Sharpe's Rifles series)
Inkheart
The Pink Panther (Steve Martin)
The Visitor
Bill Nye the Science Guy - Wind
Northanger Abbey
The Secret Life of Bees
The Maigret Collection
Persuasion
Annie Get Your Gun
Cats
1776
Mickey and the Beanstalk
The Great Debaters
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Bicycle Safety
The Avenger's - Season 67 - Set 4
The Avenger's - Season 67 - Set 3
The Avenger's - Season 67 - Set 2
Come September
Carmen
Burn After Reading
The Avengers - Season '63 - Set 2
Millions
Bedtime Stories
Fawlty Towers: The Complete Collection
We Live to Eat: New Orleans's Love Affair with Food
A Touch of Frost - Season 2
Freedom Writers
The Tale of Despereaux
Foyle's War - Season 5
The Mikado
Fireproof
Midsomer Murders - Set 11
The Last Detective - Series 4
The Last Detective - Series 3
Sharpe's Honour (Sharpe's Rifles series)
The Last Detective - Series 2
Safety Smart Science - Fire (Bill Nye the Science Guy)
Quantum of Solace (007 series)
The Last Detective - Series 1
Mickey
Midsomer Murders - Set 12
Deja Vu
Slumdog Millionaire
Extras - Season 1
North by Northwest
Fawlty Towers: The Complete Collection
A Fish Called Wanda
Miss Marple: A Caribbean Mystery
Miss Marple: They Do It With Mirrors
Ninotchka (Garbo)
Desk Set (Hepburn and Tracey)
All Passion Spent
Rumpole of the Bailey - Pilot Episode
Rumpole of the Bailey - Season 7
Appaloosa
Alice Adams - Love this Kathrine Hepburn classic
The Adam Chronicles
Lovejoy - Season 2
Inspector Morse: Infernal Serpent
Get Smart: The Movie
Keeping Mum
The Thin Blue Line: The Complete Line-Up
Jericho - The Killing of Johnny Swan
Bramwell - Season 2Jane Eyre (2003 Hurt/Paquin)
Only Fools and Horses - The Complete Series 1 - 3
A Touch of Frost - Season 7 and 8
Murder City
Chancer - Series 1
Olly Olly Oxen Free - Starring Kathrine Hepburn - cute family friendly adventure
The Murder Room (Inspector Dalgliesh)
Rough Diamond - Starring David Jason

Woo Hoo! I have 50 followers . . .

and I am also quickly approaching my 100th post.

Maybe its time for another giveaway???  Now what should I give away . . .

NOT!

I did not believe it when I heard it,
but apparently they are real Horizon Relief 'Bottles of Hope'

UPDATE:  I realized I may have been unclear when I said they were "real", I only mean to imply that someone is really selling bottles of oil spill, I have no idea how much (if any) or in what manner the proceeds are actually being used for the claimed charitable purpose.
Guess I will have to come up with something you might actually want to have in your house.

Absolutely no stitching done today, but . . . I played Monopoly with DS and his friend for 3 hours (I did not think most kids would play a board game for that long anymore) and this evening spent time playing Toy Story 3 for Wii with my DS.

You know you are from South Louisiana if . . .

CHALLENGE:  Parsley at Seasons of my Mind shared You know you are 100% Oklahoman if . . . and inspired me to share this list.  Are you inspired to share your list??
So  here it goes . . .

You know you are from South Louisiana if  . . .

• You know the rain forest is less humid than New Orleans
• You like your poboy with debris
• You have ever spent 12 hours to drive 80 miles
• You know what a mirlton is and what to do with it (and have it growing in your backyard)
• You schedule events around the football schedules of the Saints and LSU
• You think purple, green and gold go together
• You "suck the heads and bite the tails"
• You had to reschedule the same birthday party TWICE due to hurricanes
• You can properly pronounce Lafayette, Bossier, Natchitoches, Opelousas, Shongaloo, Pontchartrain, Ouachita, and you know that New Orleans doesn't have a long "e" sound anywhere in it
• You think people who complain about the heat in their states are sissies.
• You cringe every time you hear an actor with a Southern or Cajun accent in a "New Orleans-based" movie or TV show.
• You know everything goes better with Tony's or Tabasco.
• You ever had to switch from heat to AC in the same day.
• You use "fix" as a verb. Example: "I am fixing to go to the store."
• You know only four spices: salt, pepper, Tabasco, and Tony's
• You read a local newspaper that covers national and international news on one page, but requires six pages for local gossip and sports.
• You know all four seasons: Almost summer, summer, still summer, and Christmas.
• You know all four seasons: shrimp, oyster, crab and crawfish.
• You know whether another Louisianian is from New Orleans, North Louisiana, or South Louisiana as soon as they open their mouth.
• You start every conversation with "How's ya mamma and dem?"
• You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees) as good gumbo weather.
• You consider fried catfish is the other white meat
• You reinforce your attic to store Mardi Gras beads.
• Your sunglasses fog up when you step outside.
• Your ancestors are buried above the ground.
• You take a bite of five-alarm chili and reach for the Tabasco.
• You sit down to eat boiled crawfish and your host says, "Don't eat the dead ones," and you know what he means.
• You don't learn until high school that Mardi Gras is not a national holiday.
• You push little old ladies out of the way to catch Mardi Gras beads.
• Little old ladies push YOU out of the way to catch Mardi Gras beads.
• You leave a parade with footprints on your hands.
• You believe that purple, green, and gold look good together.
• Your last name isn't pronounced the way it's spelled.
• You know what a nutria is but you still pick it to represent your baseball team.
• No matter where else you go in the world, you are always disappointed in the food.
• Your town is low on the education chart, high on the obesity chart and you don't care because you're No. 1 on the party chart.
• You know that Tchoupitoulas is a street and not a disease.
• Your grandparents are called "Maw-Maw" and "Paw-Paw."
• Your Santa Claus rides an alligator and your favorite Saint is a football player.
• You have to reset your clocks after every thunderstorm.
• When it starts to rain, you cover your beer instead of your head.
• You eat dinner out and spend the entire meal talking about all the other good places you've eaten.
• You know what is meant by 'K&B purple
• You know what it means for food to come 'dressed'...
• You 'ax' for things...
• You know how to 'make' groceries
• When you ask people where they went to school, they answer with their high school
• You save newspapers, not for recycling but for tablecloths at crawfishboils
• Drive-thru daquiris -- it's not drinking and driving until you put the straw in.
• You stand on the neutral ground at parades and have no idea what a 'median' is

The Oil Spill

Still watching the Gulf, but at least I am stitching while doing it ; )

TD #1 is now Tropical Storm Alex.  The five day forcast shows it heading straight toward Mexico.  If it stays on this track, it will hopefully not cause too many problems for the oil spill clean up.  I heard yesterday that oil spill operations could be stopped for up to two weeks due to the storm.



We had family over yesterday, but I did get a little stitching done on another LHN ornament . . .

"Winter Sheep"

Little House Needleworks

Stitched over 2 on 28ct French Country Linen on Cafe Mocha

(recommended fabric Weeks Dye Works 30 ct Straw Linen)

Using the recommended DMC threads

(so far, but I am out of Ecru for the sheep and might do a substitution)

QUESTION OF THE DAY- I am using a "scrap" of linen left over from another project for this ornament.  I am trying to organize my other bits of linen that are too small for large projects to use for more ornaments.  Do you use your scraps this way, or do you always buy the recommended fabric?

TUSAL UPDATE - Notice the blue from "Dogs Leave Paw Prints" and "At Pemberley" and the red from the start of "Winter Sheep"

Enjoy your Sunday!

And so it begins . . .

We have Tropical Depression # 1 heading toward the Yucatan peninsula.

 

This season we have the oil spill as an added level of difficulty.  Remember, the winds from a hurricane blow counter-clockwise and can push a lot of water.  I marked the approx area of the oil spill -- this track does not look good for us.  In addition, the Gulf temperatures are very high which could strengthen the storm quickly. 

Having been caught by surprise by Hurricane Katrina (I evacuated a day before the mass evacuations began, but really did believe we would only be gone for 3 - 4 days), I have worked each year since to improve our hurricane preparations. 

These plans and preparations also work for tornadoes, earthquakes, ice storms, terrorist attacks, wildfires and other emergencies (with some tweaking for specific circumstances).  So, I thought I might share my plans and preparations on the blog in hopes that it might prove helpful to someone.

I will break it up into the following major categories:

1. Creating a Family Plan
2. Creating a Pet Plan
3. Disaster Supply Kit
4. Evacuation Destinations
5. Securing your Home 

I will start posting next week, assuming my plans are not preempted . . .

A Lazy Little Update

Like the new blog design?  I hope to have some new stitching pics to post after the weekend.

I did some blog browsing last night and this morning, there were so many examples of beautiful stitching, wonderful vacation updates, and inspirational decorating ideas, it was hard to comment on them all - but I tried.

Thanks to Parsley for a little chuckle this morning.  She inspired me to come up with my own "You're 100% Louisianian" list.  Maybe she will inspire you to create a list of your own.  Ideas keep popping into my head of things to add to my list, so I will keep adding to it over the weekend and post on Monday.  Anyone else up for the challenge???

Well, looks like we will have our first tropical system developing sometime this afternoon.  Hoping it does not come into the Gulf.   Please pray, the Gulf Coast does not need this right now. I am still working on my hurricane prep list, guess I better speed it up just in case.

Have a great weekend, keep cool, have fun and keep stitching!

A Finish, A WIP and a Plan

Here is my first Jane Austen finish,

"At Pemberley"

The Sampler Girl

Stitched on 28 count Cashel linen in Light Mocha

over 2 using the recommended threads

I ordered fabric from The Sampler Girl to complete the finish and frame.  I found two thrift store frames, I might use to frame this piece. 

This one was $2.50

This one was $1

The frames are pretty distressed, so I might paint it a dark chocolate brown.  What do you think?  I am open to ideas.  Since it is so humid here, I think I will do the frame without the glass.

I finished this one just in time, The Sampler Girl is releasing "At Delaford" on Friday.  You can also sign up for her "At Delaford" giveaway.

I am in the home stretch of Lizzie Kate's "Dogs Leave Paw Prints".  I am using the recommended colors, but I might change the Liberty thread (the heart and the words "on your").  It is a very bright cherry red that almost glows on the fabric.  I will stitch it and if I still do not like it, I will frog it out and make a replacement.

Remember this one?  Lizzie Kate's "Sons are a Special Joy".  I have decided to use a standard 8x10 frame with the addition of some coordinating fabric.  The distressed blue frame was a 50% off sale item.  This will be my first self framing project.

I will begin stitching three of the LHN 2010 Christmas ornaments when I have finished these WIPs (unless I win the "At Delaford" pattern).  Maybe stitching Christmas designs will help me to "think cool".

I have been looking for the Just Cross-Stitch Christmas Preview issue and cannot find it -- is it out at the newstands yet?  Looking forward to stitching the LHN & CCN gingerbread ornaments (among others).

Today started very dreary, but the clouds and overnight rain kept it cooler today (we have been having heat indexes over 100 - ugh).  We went into the city to run some errands, visit the cemeteries for Father's Day and have a little birthday fun for DS.

For his birthday, DS adopted Cinnamon, who will join Brownie and Honey (seeing a pattern?) in his animal menagerie.  Build-A-Bear sent DS a birthday card for a free bear (up to $12).  I could not let him come home naked, so since he was free, I bought him a t-shirt.

DS had an electrifying birthday party.  After going to Toy Story 3, the weather turned stormy and we had to replace the outdoor water slide with an indoor Wii tournament.  About an hour into the party, lightning struck two trees next to the house.  One tree exploded sending huge splinter all over the yard.  Both trees show tracks where the lightning raced around the tree ripping open the bark as it headed toward the ground.

One more thrift store find, this cross-stitch book for 50 cents.  It will make some nice holiday smalls.

Don't know why Blogger thinks these photos are landscape, but here they are.

Hope your are having a super Summer!

More Progress on Pemberley

Did some more stitching on "At Pemberley" today.

Our beautiful pink sky from last night.

It is only Tuesday!

I was sure it was Wednesday when I woke up this morning. Yippee! I just got an extra day in the week.

A stitching update . . .

Gimme a B (and a little more border)! 

"At Pemberley"

by The Sampler Girl

Stitching using the recommended threads over 2

on 28 count Cashel Linen in Light Mocha

We are two weeks into hurricane season and our first potential hurricane is being monitored in the Atlantic. This cannot be good for the oil spill situation.  All we can do is pray.  A hurricane that would push oil into the marshes, bayous, lakes and rivers would exponentially compound the environmental damage that is already taking place and would likely displace entire communities, many of the same communities that have already spent the last five years rebuilding their lives, homes and businesses from hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Now, time for a blast from the past . . .

Anybody having an 80s flashback yet?

DS got new shoes today and I am now looking forward to DH's reaction when he gets home. We had to go to the adult shoe section to find a size to fit - ACKKKK!  When did that happen??

BTW, DS is ecstatic to have made the blog twice in one day ; )

A Little Post from my DS

DS wanted to share one of his school projects on my blog  (he is always asking if I put him in my blog post).  So I am turning the blog over to him . . .

My class read "Because of Winn Dixie" and we had to design a shoebox diarama of an event from the book.  I chose when Winn Dixie ran through the Winn Dixie.  This is were Opal meets Winn Dixie for the first time and she takes him home.

It was fun making all the clay fruits and vegetables for the produce department.

My Mom made the lettuces, blueberry baskets and watermelons. 

(Note from Mom:  Don't you love the little creases in the peaches and the spiky tops on the pineapples?  DS did a great job!)

Winn Dixie is also made of clay, the manager and Opal are wood.

To my dear DS (who is watching over my shoulder while I type this post),

I may not mention you in every blog post I make, but I love you more than you can imagine and grow prouder of you every day. 

I love you forever and always and all the time! 

<3  Mom

Summer Stitching

Looks like the long, hot summer has started.  Our temps are nearing (and sometimes breaking) 100 and the heat index has been as high as 115 since the humidity has stayed in the 90s.  I hope you are having more enjoyable weather where you are.

I am behind on my blog hopping, but have seen some beautiful stitching and wonderful giveaways.  I have left a few comments, but hope to catch up my viewing and commenting soon.

We are in birthday mode here as DS will be having a Toy Story 3 party.  Dollar Tree had lots of Toy Story themed merchandise and I found some reusable shopping bags with the little green alien on clearance at the Disney Store so the goodie bags & prizes are done.

As promised, here is my long overdue stitching update . . .

Lizzie Kate's "Dogs Leave Paw Prints"

Stitched using the recommended threads and fabric.

(I have stitched and frogged the blue on the dog house TWICE due to miscounting the over 2, but it is a beautiful bright blue so I guess it wasn't too bad spending the extra time working with that color.)

The Sampler Girl "I'd Rather be at Pemberly"

Stitched using the recommended threads on 28 count Cashel linen in Light Mocha

(This is really wonderful to stich. I was worried about the large blank spaces, since I often miscount, but it has been great.  The recommended fabric was 32 count, but that was too small for me, so I will have a larger finish, but I am loving it.  This will be my first Jane Austen finish.)

Little House Needleworks "Home of a Needleworker, Too"

Stitched using the recommended threads and fabric

(I was hoping to be further along on this one.  I used this as a take-along project during one of DS's after-school activities.  I will take it back up as an at-home project since it is too hot to stitch away.)

Funny for the Day

In Louisiana,  we take our golf course water hazards seriously . . .

Yep, that is a gator taking a leisurely swim at the golf course,
now that is a serious water "hazard"!

Stay cool and keep stitching!

Thinking Cool Thoughts

It is the hottest day of the year so far, 94 degrees with a heat index of 109 degrees and the fan in the central A/C stopped working this morning.  Fortunately, a repairman was able to come out right away and he is on his way to pick up the necessary part as I type this post.  However, this repair turned into an episode of "Wild Kingdom" with disturbed bees near the A/C unit and a snake heading to the bayou for a swim.  (Wish I was with Merlin watching from the safety of the helicopter -- is that too dated of a reference??  What about this one -- "Snakes!  Why does it always have to be snakes?!?")

Needless to say, there will be no stitching today (although I maybe be in desperate need of a little needle and thread therapy tonight).  I do have a new start from this weekend, Lizzie Kate's "Dogs Leave Paw Prints".

I visited my favorite LNS and purchased two new LHN ornie charts "Winter Sheep" and "The Merry Skater" and some new linen (Dirty Linen, Old Lace, Antique Ivory, and Latte) and some WDW, CC & GAST threads.

Hope you are all having a cool and pest free day.