An unproductive day and a stitching update

I have had a rather unproductive day today which is a bad thing since I had just shy of a million things to get done.  First up on my list was to choose new flooring for the kitchen.  The kitchen you say?  Didn't you just put new flooring in the kitchen this summer?  And my answer to you would be yes indeedy Mindy McCreedy I most certainly did put new flooring in my kitchen this past summer.  And every time you drop something, or slide a chair or push the vacuum cleaner across it, it leaves a divot in the floor, a bright white spot in all that brown that stands out like a sore thumb.  Then you'd say,  Well what kind of cheap crap did you put in your kitchen Julie?  And I would say, trust me...it wasn't cheap.   And because it wasn't cheap and because I was very unhappy with it, I put in a claim to the store where we bought it.  And they sent a dude out who took pictures and told me that every floor will scratch.  To which I replied...when you accidentally drop a car key on your kitchen floor does it leave a white hole?  And the smart ass replied no, we don't drop things on our floor.  And I said I suppose you don't walk on it either and he said no, we float 6 inches above it.  At that point I figured I was SOL.  But surprisingly enough, I got a call from the store saying that Armstrong had agreed to replace my kitchen floor and I needed to let them know if I wanted the same product, something different or monetary compensation.  So today I took my happy self off to the Mart to find out what other options are out there.  I'm a bit leery of replacing it with what we already have, even though I love the look and feel of it.  I'd be afraid it would do the same thing and they for damn sure aren't going to replace it a second time.  I know I don't want ceramic tile...too cold and hard on the feet, ankles and legs.  Had laminate before and did not like the clickity clack of the dogs, nor the buckling caused by dripping dog beards, or ice cubes not picked up.  Ixnayed the sheet vinyl cuz I don't think it wears very well.  And although I would love a hardwood floor, I'm afraid of the dripping dog beards and ice cubes not picked up problem.    So the sales guy approaches and asks me if  he can help me.  I explained all of the above and asked him if there was any other type of flooring out there that I was not aware of and immediately he goes on the defensive.  My floor happens to be laid in the flooring dept and he starts to tell me how it's a great floor and how he has it in his own home (funny how no matter what floor I am looking at the sales guy always has it in his own home) and I shouldn't be afraid of replacing it with the same thing.  Or maybe I just need another color he says.  So I point out all the white spots on their floor and I get a long explanation about how long the floor had been down and how many people walk on it every day yada yada yada.  I let him finish up and then ask him my original question again.  Is there anything else out there that I am not aware of...his response...maybe you need to talk to a supervisor. I said yes, maybe I do and went in and spoke with customer service.  On Sunday I will go back and meet up with the guy who originally sold me the floor.  I really liked him and I feel he will be a bit more helpful.
I know I'm asking for a lot in a floor and perhaps it doesn't exist, and I can accept that.  But then I want to know what my options are.  I might have to just replace it with the same thing, but I'm not going to make that decision without some serious thinking.  Wish me luck.

The rest of my day went downhill from there.  But I won't bore you with those details.

I have an update on The Inn.  The house is done and the water has now started to flow across the picture.  Won't be long!

The husband unit has just walked in the door and I need to make some supper before Idol is on so I wish you all a wonderful evening!

Take care till next time!

Julie

My Favorite Find from Market, NeedleArt Exhibit and Gracie update

I want to share  my favorite purchase from the Nashville Market,  but first please join me in sending a little prayer to all those that have been affected by the horrific weather they have experienced in that part of the country this past week.   When I stop and think that it could so easily have been the previous week when we were there I just shake my head in wonder.  I've survived a tornado  once before when I was in high school and it wiped out  a pretty big chunk of our  neighborhood.  Although our house had some significant damage it was one of the few still standing after the storm.  With time the people affected will re-build their lives and their homes, but they will never forget the fear they felt as they huddled together praying that everything would be fine or the horror of coming out of their homes or wherever they took cover and seeing the destruction all around them.  Life can change in an instant, so let's all make the most of it while we can.

Now back to the fun stuff.  I saw lots of beautiful charts, fabrics, and finished projects at Market.  But the thing I am most thrilled with, the thing that has me smiling every time I use it...is this little device.

Now I am sure some of you already have one, know what it is and are thinking, "that's so yesterday." But if, like me, you didn't know such a thing existed, you might be about to jump for joy!  When I stitch, I am never alone.  There is always a dog...or two sitting next to me.

 And lately there has been a husband.  He's decided he likes the love seat instead of the sofa for sitting.  Now all four of us are crammed onto it and I can't tell you how many times a night my scissors would be knocked off of the table, the arm of the love seat, the cushion of the love seat, the cushy shelf permanently attached to my body known around here as the booby shelf, or my thighs.  Didn't matter where I put them or what I put them in, including my scissor beak bird, some how, some way one of the three bodies sitting with me would knock them off.  Until Now.  Now I have a Scissor Sitter and I.AM.IN.LOVE!!!  Such a simple idea, we all have needleminders, how could it take me so long to find Scissor Sitters???  It utilizes the same idea as a needleminder only you use it on your shirt.

It holds the scissors just fine, I've tested it all week long and the scissors haven't budged.  Ingenious!!   I don't know if anyone else makes these, but  the one I have is from Puffin and Co.   One last thing...you can also hook your readers through the hoop so you don't lose them a hundred times a day like someone I know has a habit of doing.  I'm not going to name names cuz she knows who she is.  LOL!!

Not much progress has been made on the stitching front this past week.  We've been super busy at work getting ready for our Market Open House and this month is also our NeedleArt Exhibit so I was busy getting that set up as well.  By the time I got home from work I was too tired to do more than sit and stare at the TV.  So my little red house is not done yet.  But it's further along than it was before.

I don't think I ever showed a picture of Mary's framed Anniversaries of the Heart.  And if I did too bad, it deserves another picture!  She brought it back to the shop for the Exhibit so I took a picture of it to share with you, along with a picture of all the entries for the exhibit this year. Last year Mary got the most votes with her One Nation piece.  One has to wonder if this year she'll get the most votes with Anniversaries.  She has some pretty good competition this year though.   The pictures should all be clickable so you can see the entries better.

Sorry about the glare on some of them.  Hard to get a decent picture  when it has glass on it.

OH!  Something exciting happened at the shop while we were away in Nashville.  You know how we used to share the bay we are in with a Vacuum Cleaner store and you know he moved out in September.  Well he left his huge Vacuum Sign on the building when he left and wouldn't take it down.  He wanted us to pay for the removal.  That wasn't going to happen.  So we've been dealing with people still thinking we sell vacuum supplies and vacuums.  Even though we put a sign on the door saying he was gone, they would still come in and ask "So you don't sell vacuum bags anymore?"  We'd politely tell them he moved, they'd ask us either where he went or where the next closest store was (cuz ya know since we used to share the bay we are up on where all the vacuum stores are) and they would go about their merry way.  And we all couldn't wait for the day when the Vacuum sign would come down so we wouldn't have to answer that question a million times a day.  Well on the 24th of February, history was made and vacuum guy had someone take the sign away!!!  Of course our sign went away too as it needs to be re-wired so now we have no sign, but in a few short weeks our sign will be back better than ever.  Before it said:

                                                            VACUUM Framing

His letters were way larger and more visible than ours and the landlord wouldn't give us another 6 inches to put an ampersand between the words and to answer your next question, yes people asked us if we could frame their vacuum.  Of course we always responded with we would be happy to.  Now it will say Framing & Stitching.  Much better.  Much Much better.  One would think that since the sign is gone, the vinyl window decals are gone, and all traces of vacuums are gone that we would be done with people coming in and asking us if we still sell vacuums.  After all, it's been 6 months since he moved out.   But alas that thought would be erroneous.  They read the sign on the door saying he's moved, they come into the shop, look around, see no traces of a vacuum belt or bag anywhere and then ask  if we still sell vacuum supplies!!!  Here's your sign...

And an update on Gracie...she has been off the antibiotic for 2 weeks and is doing okay.  She is still on the prednisone but I will be talking with the vet this week about whether we want to see what happens if we wean her off of them.  I  found a lump that I am hoping is just a fatty tumor but will need to have it checked out and I've noticed she is limping today Not sure what the heck is going on there.  So for now she is holding her own. Thanks to those that inquired about how she is doing.  Here's a pic taken of her earlier today.

Not a very ladylike pose is it.  The dog has no shame whatsoever.

Well if you made it this far, more power to you!  I could go on a bit more but will take pity on you and call it a night.

Thanks for stopping in and thanks for the comments!

Take care till next time!

Julie