A "Froggy" Day

It is rather warm and very rainy, so that could make it a good day for frogs. But in this case it is a bad day for my Alina Kozich cross-stitch. I started it too late at night and while I was having anxiety attack #504 over Alix's health, so what else could I expect. I have been moving right along on it, but now I see I am about two stitches off in the body section (black) and since I plodded right along, oblivious to this fact, now it is a bigger mess then ever. The body proportions have to be exact for it to look at all like a real person and being off by two stitches will really distort this. I think I can fake my way through on the left leg, but now I am at the neck area and it is too narrow. She is in great danger of her head tipping off because she has a spindly little neck! I can start entirely from the beginning, since the fabrics and threads are rather 'common' stuff...14 count tan Aida and DMCs...nothing anything rare or expensive. I think she will get pack away for a while until I can figure out what I want to do. Here's what the old girl looks like so far. It is a shame that I got so far along before I realized the mistake.

I have accomplished quite a bit this week, but not much in the way of cross-stitch. I have finished two Quaker Animals by The Workbasket, but they need to remain anonymous until I complete the Animal Exchange. I am working on a third one now since I am absolutely in love with these critters. They are fun to work and I have been experimenting with different threads for a not-so-traditional Quaker look. I also fixed one of my favorite windchimes. I hadn't heard the sound of it in over ten years as the clapper had fallen off and it would take a near tornado to get the heavy bronze-like chimes to move and make a noise. Not the most classy of fixes (a tuna can lid!) and I plan to remedy that with a nice faux bronze clapper made of polymer clay very soon.

Alix is doing very well. She seems to go through stages of seeming weak and frail and then bounces back to her old self. She was stalking a bird yesterday...without success though. Here is the most recent photo of her. I think this is the kitty equivalent of giving me "the finger" for following her around all the time and constantly taking photos of her.

Well, it looks like the town-wide yard sale is going to be a washout. That was going to be my cheap 'retail therapy' to keep me out of the craft/fabric shop.

Hmm, this isn't Coal or Sammy. This little guy showed up about three days ago. He is well-fed and very friendly, so I think he is someones pet. Actually, I hope he is. I would never turn a cat away, but there are so many of them now and they are starting to aggravate each other. There are three male cats in the area...Twinsy the neighbor cat, a large striped guy with white face and feet, and now this little black guy. They are all 'un-fixed' and howl at night and battle with each other. It drives Bud crazy and keeps me awake. I go out three or four times a night to break them up and send them in their proper direction. Our Sammy seems to stay away from the fights, but Coal likes to jump right in there and mix it up.