Playing Around

Playing in the snow.
This is what my porch looked like this morning...

So my Husband spent the morning playing in the snow - clearing the driveways to the house and barn of snow. The snowplow has been by twice. Today it is sunny and water is dripping off of the house and trees.

Playing with threads.
I had set up the longarm last weekend. When I played with it then I was getting this on the back...

I changed the needle, the thread and bobbin, cleaned it and check the thread path. I am not sure what I did, but now I am getting this on the front.

This is the back.

I am still getting some loops on the back, but I think that may be from moving the machine too fast. Maybe not. Any ideas, suggestions?

This machine does not have a stitch regulator which is something I am used to. I need lots - LOTS - of practice to improve my stitching. :)

I also played with counted cross stitch threads.

Sometimes I don't like the thread colors included in the kit. I changed the blue in the beard to a lighter blue. I thought the one included with the kit stood out too much. I may will change the outline color from dark brown also. I feel that color is too dark. Maybe the original blue for the beard as the outline.

I have several of these ornament kits that I plan to make them into cards instead of ornaments.

One of my geraniums is still blooming. I never would have thought this would happen and am delighted to see those bright pops of color every day. You can see the snow drifts in the background behind this one.

Sadly, my uncle passed away on January 7th. I got to see Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and other family members which was nice, even under sad circumstances. We are all so spread out across the country that it is hard to get together these days. 

Now my cousins get the difficult job of figuring out a living situation for my aunt. She is suffering from dementia and other health issues and just cannot live alone anymore. They are hoping for a live-in situation so she can stay at home as long as possible. She seems more agreeable to that than any other suggestion so far. The wife of one of the cousins will be staying with her for a couple of weeks until they can get it all set up. My parents will visit often, but they live about an hour and a half away. My dad is also suffering with the affects of dementia and his patience wears thin after a while. He prefers his home and regular routine. Who doesn't?!