I love me some backstitch

I am at the point in my ornament where it's just backstitch and beading. Happy happy joy joy. I feel like I have been backstitching for a week now, but it's only been three days. I think I can get the backstitching done tonight, after I get back from my nail appointment and taking Chancey for a walk (she's the one in back in the picture below, though I do have to say, that is a strikingly good photo of her as she does not look fat in it, just hot).

I had intended to work on the ornament last night, but I went to the gym. I am trying to get back into shape, seriously I am. So I went. And I used the treadmill for 25 minutes, and biked for 20. When I got home, I was still keyed up (I ran a quarter mile and I haven't run a quarter mile in years, so I was kinda hyper), so I decided to do yardwork since the sumac tree in our flowerbed was threatening my lavendar bush. And the bed was full of grass--my gladiolas were all choked out this year, and I love my glads, my lovely bought at Walmart gladiolas. Anyway, so I was out in the front yard pulling up grass and whacking at a tree with the loppers. And the most pathetic thing was the Mongrel Horde, who claim to be fine guard dogs. My son is a champion, a fine example of the Schipperke breed, bred to provide security on barges, his sister, well, she just gets easily irritated, and what is the point of having a Rottweiler/border collie mix if she doesn't hear me outside the house? They did finally notice I was out there and started barking, but that was only after I tripped on the electric cord I couldn't see for the sumac bush, fell forward into the bush and the house, and started cursing. So they barked their "stranger get out of my yard" bark til I went around to whack on a different part of the bush, then Robbie saw me and started the, "My mummy's home, she's home, I love her, I worship her, come inside and play with me," bark, which I ignored. I wanted that tree out. I did get it out finally and dragged it around the house (someone else can throw it in the trash, I did the hard part), then I went and admired my tomato crop. I have a suspicion I will be able to open a tomato stand in a few weeks, LOL, but how was I to know that ALL my tomato plants would survive and thrive? And could I really sit and stitch after all that excitement?

So it was a long time til I sat down and stitched. The little ornie is almost done. I just gotta finish this little bit and then bead it. Oh and finish it, almost forgot. I am trying to figure out if I want to do it as a stiff ornie or a pillow. I am leaning towards stiff for now, but not sure. A pillow would be pretty simple to do, even hand-sewing. I spent a good portion of a staff meeting today pondering this issue.

It's three weeks til the fair. OK, three weeks and a day. I think I have everything under control, just have to do my finishing. And figure out what cookies I am baking. I want to try the cookies I did last year again. I thought they were good . . . but I also have a couple new ones, including a zucchini chocolate chip one. I figure that's a pretty hard class to judge anyway, because, realistically, if you aren't adding something to the cookie, how many differing recipes are there? And I am still hoping to get an entry in the box cake mix class.