Greetings all!!
Would you believe that I have not one but two finishes to
show off today??? I know. Will wonders never cease.
See, there was a reason for my absence.

Phoebe's sampler came together and was finished off last week.
Well, the stitching part anyways. This is of course a design by
the most incredibly talented Gazette94 and the colors are all
various shades of DMC pinks. Phoebe has informed me that
she quite likes this finish but wonders why her name hasn't
been stitched on it somewhere. Hmmmm....

And then we have Prairie Schooler's Prairie Birds all finished
at last and ready for Christmas. I had to make a trip out to
Michaels to pick up a skein of 520 green thread before I could
finish this, and once I had that there really wasn't all that much
left to do. Actually I was wondering if perhaps I should stitch
some sort of a border around the six squares just to finish it off.
What do you think??? The one square is a bit bigger then the
others (why??? It was designed that way. Again, why??) so
sticks up a bit. Should I leave well enough alone??

I have started a new project after these two finishes. It's a
Christmas design and I'm having a great time working on it.
What is it, you may be asking..... Well, you'll just have to wait
until my next post to see what it is. Hee Hee Hee!!!

A few posts ago I mentioned that one of my favorite of
Blackbird Designs was Their Song, but it was out of
print and didn't seem to show up on Ebay whenever
I checked for it there. Soon after I got an request from
Rowyn (Stitching Under the Southern Cross) to email
her my address because she had something for me.
Well naturally I was curious but Rowyn would say no
more on the subject so I had to wait a little while to
find out what she was up to. An envelope arrived in my
mail box and when I opened it guess what fell out???
How cool is this??? Thank you so much Rowyn for
sending me this wonderful design. I am so looking
forward to stitching this and your RAK really made
my week.

I was lucky enough to win a gift from Andrea (The
Craft Room) recently and in my next post I'll post
a photo of the incredible, beautiful treasure that
she sent to me. Until then, you'll have to wait and
see.

In the plaza located on the outskirts of the subdivision
where we live there is a thrift store run by the Upper
Credit Humane Society. I like to pop in there once a
week or so to see what treasures might be available,
whether it be books or nick knacks or something
totally unexpected. Such as a cross stitch chart. On
Saturday I found the above Mirabilia chart on sale
for a mere 25 cents (Canadian) and my immediate
first thought was "Oh goodie!!! I can have a give
away on my blog for this." When I got home with
my prize and opened the envelope to check on the
chart I discovered a second chart inside, which is
the little freebie from 1996. Bonus!!!

So, you all know the drill for this sort of thing.
Leave a comment letting me know that you would
like to enter the draw for these two charts, and
perhaps one or two other little goodies, and I'll
have a draw on Sunday the 22nd for the winner.

Good luck!!

Books read in the past few weeks:

I picked this book by Ariana Franklin up when it appeared
in the sale bin of my favorite bookstore a while back. When
a hardcover book is being sold for a paperback price, and it
sounds like a really good read, or is a book that I'd been
thinking of buying when it was on for it's full price, then I
get all giddy and happy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. In fact I enjoyed it so much
that I went looking for the rest of the books published in this
series so far and have added two more to my collection. The
story takes place during the rein of Henry II in England. A
combination of historical fiction, mystery and forensics (as
imagined for that time period) with a fascinating heroine and
cast of characters, including a brief, scene stealing cameo by
King Henry II himself, this was a great read.

I love Charlaine Harris and I adore Sookie Stackhouse.
I was two books behind in the series and so rectified
that situation by reading them both back to back.
Both were excellent reads, as usual.

We don't get HBO in our cable package so I've never
seen the TV series True Blood which is based on these
books. But I've heard and read lots of good things
about it and am curious to see for myself how it stacks
up against the books. I'm always leery of movies or
TV shows that are based on books that I love. It's rare
to find an adaption that is worthy of an author's vision.
The best adaptions of a book can bring it to life (hello
Peter Jackson, and thank you) the worst can make you
swear off seeing any other adaptions forever.

I'm going to see if Santa will bring the first season of
True Blood on DVD for under my tree this year.

Our godson Ian went to Fanshawe college for two years
studying acting. Last Friday DH and I went to see him
performing in a play put on by the Georgetown Little
Theatre.

The Mumberley Inheritance is a comedic take
on the old melodramas that were once performed for
audiences in the early 1900's. You know the type. The
villain twirls his moustache and flaunts his black cape,
while the heroine bats her eyelashes, is forced to marry
the villain to save the family estate, and swoons all over
the stage. And the hero's name is Rodney Stoutheart,
a likeable, dim bulb of a hero who saves the day, in spite
of himself, sort of.

The audience's role during these sorts of plays is to boo
and hiss whenever the villain does something rotten
(which is fairly often, seeing as how he's a villain), to
cheer whenever the hero appears and manages not to
trip over his own two feet, and to repeat lines along with
the characters as they are used over and over again
throughout the play to either establish that character's
identity, history or evil plan.

It was a lot of fun to watch, and we were fit to burst with pride
as Ian showed his comedic talents were more then up to the
challenge. He had the audience in stitches with his antics.

We'd seen him performing in plays during his time at Fanshawe
but those were all dramas so this was our first experience seeing
him in a comedy. We had a blast.

Rupert is very fond of boxes, bags and blankets. Anything
he can get into, he will. Which is why I always make it a
point to check the dryer before loading wet clothes into it
just to be sure that it's empty at the time. And really it's
also why I should just make sure that I close the laundry
room door so that this sort of thing doesn't happen. He
won't get out without an argument.

********************************************************

Weigh in at Weight Watcher's this week was something of a
surprise. For the past couple of months my weight loss has
slowed down, as it tends to do as you get closer to your ideal
weight. But I was content with the one pound or so loss
that I achieved each week (sometimes a bit more, sometimes
a bit less). I've been going to Curves faithfully and find the
workout there to be great for all of me, not just my legs. I
still have a long way to go before I'll be able to work those
machines like a pro but I'm getting style and method and
endurance finessed first and the rest will follow.

So, tonight at Weight Watchers I weighed in expecting my
usual loss, and was told that last week I lost 5 pounds!!!!
This means that I am now past the high end marker for
what I should weigh for my age, height etc and could now
go on maintenance if I wished. But my own goal has been
to get to the weight that I was when I got married, and so
I'm going to keep going a bit longer until I reach that goal.
I just have 3 pounds left to go, but this is the Christmas
season now so my main focus will be to try not to over
indulge too much, and to maintain my current weight.

So as of today I have now lost 67 pounds on the Weight
Watcher's program, and have gone from a size 22 to a
size 10.

Also, last week at Weight Watchers the Georgetown
groups, which meet on Tuesdays at the Superstore,
one in the morning, one at the lunch hour and one in
the evening (which is when I go) rose to the challenge
issued by Weight Watchers and brought in over a
thousand pounds of food for our local food bank.
We're feeling pretty proud of that accomplishment
and we sure surprised the folks from the Food Bank
who had 10 grocery carts full of food to haul out of
the store and to their cars. Weight Watchers will be
making some sort of donation as well to compliment
our donation.

Hopefully I'll find time to post again soon. Until then
thanks for dropping by.

Cheers!!!

Autumn in Georgetown

I bought this wee treasure during a quick trip to our

local mall yesterday. I had a coupon and my discount
card for that particular bookstore chain so got it for
a decent price. This is one of those instances when
it doesn't matter if you should be treating yourself
or not to a new book, what with Christmas coming
and all that. This is an author and a book that you
just have to have now!!

Well, I do anyways.

I haven't cracked it open yet since I'm finishing up
another book first but judging by the thickness of
it this installment in the lives of Jamie and Claire
must be well over 700 pages. Perfect!!! Thank
you Ms Gabaldon. It's usually a three year wait
between installments of this series, but I'm willing
to wait because I know it'll be good. So good!

Since we're in the midst of the season when the
leaves turn from green to the most amazing
reds, yellows, oranges and golds I decided to
take my camera when I went for my walk
yesterday morning. It was a perfect morning
for being outside and enjoying the very
special pleasures that Autumn offers.

Note: all pictures are clickable for a better
view.

Breathtaking color!

I love this house, with it's bright red door and the
little roof over that door also being the same
bright red. This is an older part of Georgetown,
that has a wide range of house styles ranging from
cottages to big farmhouses and everything in
between. Lot's of huge, old trees adds ambiance
and charm to each street.

This little play area is in the Georgetown fairgrounds.
I love trees!! Especially these really tall ones with the
long, graceful trunks.

Another section of the fair grounds.

The back of a home as seen from the road that
leads into the Georgetown fair grounds.

Not everyone decorates their home for Fall and/or
Halloween around here, but it's nice when an effort
is made to celebrate this wonderful season in some
way. So, pumpkins, corn stalks, chrysanthemums
and the last efforts of the past summer's garden plants
make a nice showing on this home's front porch.

This house has a mix of Autumn and Halloween
decorations. Can't say I'm too thrilled with that
giant spider by the door, but I like that fellow in
the green cloak that's just hanging around.

Some local businesses get into the spirit of the season
as well. This is the front door leading into The Shepherd's
Crook pub.

And then there are the Halloween decorations. I love
these "headstones" in someone's front yard. Pretty
realistic looking, aren't they??

*********************************************

Not a lot going on around here at the moment ... hence

the walking tour of Georgetown as seen above. I did
stitch a bit on the weekend, and am almost finished
the last cat on Phoebe's sampler. Would probably
have finished it by now if I hadn't had to rip out a
bit of stitching thanks to some dang frogs that
hop-pened by. (Get it???)

Sorry.

I did get myself a new winter jacket while at the
mall yesterday and am quite pleased with it. The
old jacket doesn't fit anymore, and the weather
here last week was downright cold so I decided
that I couldn't wait any longer to pick out a
replacement coat. Of course now that I have the
new coat the weather for this week is suppose to
be warmer, so I can wear my Spring/Fall jacket
and be comfortable. Figures.

Leaving you with a bit of furry sweetness. They
actually do get along pretty good....most of the
time.

Cheers!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

The Thanksgiving long weekend has drawn to a close
and today it was back to work, back to Weight Watchers
(Gulp!!) and back to Curves. Why do these long weekends
always seem to fly by faster then you can blink?? It's so sad.

Above is the table set for dinner on Sunday afternoon. We
can't set the table earlier then the day of an event because
the cats would probably have everything on the floor or
flying through the air before we could do anything to stop
them. They chase each other across the table you see.
The little angels.

Dinner was the usual Thanksgiving fare of Turkey,
stuffing (made by my sister in law - it was a new recipe
and very, very tasty), mashed potatoes, cauliflower in a
white sauce, and gravy. Dessert was pumpkin pie with
real whipped cream. Delicious!

Monday night DH and I warmed up the left overs and every
thing tasted as good or better then it did on Sunday night.
Considering all the food that I ate during the weekend, and
yes that includes pumpkin pie with whipped cream two nights
in a row, I am amazed that tonight's weight in at Weight
Watchers went better then I had any right to expect. I lost a
whole pound!! Hey, I'll take it.


Well, nothing new on the stitching front to show you.
I worked on Phoebe's sampler a bit today, but there's
nothing worth showing right now. So, to make your
visit worth while, I'll show off two very old projects
from many, many years ago. Stitched on Aida I'm
afraid, but I still love them none the less. They are
designs by Alma Lynn.


I stitched these in the early 90's, when I first learned to
cross stitch and I eventually had them framed and hung
them in a spare bedroom.


Last week I got a wonderful surprise in the mail. Cathey
of Pumpkin Patch and Co. sent this to me, along with a
beautiful card and a hand written note that had me all
teary eyed and smiles at the same time. Needless to say
I am just over the moon. Thank you Cathey for your
generosity and most especially for your friendship.


Thought you all might like to see what I did last week.
As part of my rejuvenated look I decided that it was time
to get rid of the white strands of hair that were beginning
to take over my head, and get my hair colored for the
first time. Nothing drastic for this first attempt, it's
a rinse instead of a dye, so in about six weeks it'll be
pretty much gone I suppose. It allows me to see
results and decide if I like it or not before committing
myself to a more long term change. And yes, I like it.
I got it trimmed too, but not too much because I'm
growing it out to one longer length.


Finished this book early last week and I strongly
recommend it to everyone. The Help has been
receiving generally good reviews and strong endorsements
from both professional reviewers and from reviewers
in the book blogging world. I'll let a quote from the
author's website give you an idea of what the book is
about.

“Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from

Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother

will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally

find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her,

but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white

child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who

died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl

she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in

Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her

tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position

working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new

boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will

nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will

put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the

lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.”

(description taken from author's website:

http://kathrynstockett.com/book)

First time novelist Kathryn Stockett has written
a compelling and enthralling book from the
point of view of three different characters, two of
whom (Minny and Aibileen) are black women
serving as domestic help during the early 1960's
in small town Jackson, Mississippi. The third voice
in the book belongs to Skeeter, a young, well to do
white woman recently returned home from College.

I loved this book, start to finish, and found it hard
to put it down once it was done and to leave the three
main characters behind. I highly recommend this one.


Thanksgiving is a time for families to get together.
And in our case it's a time for Rupert to get a chance
to snuggle with his favorite grandmother.


And to sprawl at her feet in ecstasy and adoration.

And in general just to hang out and be together.

What a guy !!

Cheers!

The pumpkin twins welcome you to yet another addition
to my blog, and the third update in as many consecutive
weekends. I'm not sure how stimulating or interesting
this post will be since nothing much has been going on
around here, but I'll do the best I can with what I've got.

Note: the pumpkin twins have fiber optics in their ... er ...
hair??? And around their faces as well. So they shine
quite nicely in the dark and look fabulous in the front
window on Halloween night. Phoebe likes to chew on
said fiber optic hair though, so for the time that they're
out on display before Halloween the pumpkin twins
remain perched on the plant stand, well out of Phoebe's
reach.


Update on Phoebe's sampler. Honest. There's new
stitching there. See??? The cat sitting on it's haunches
is finished, and there are a couple of little doodads next
to him, and there's more border too.

I know. Mind boggling, isn't it??? What can I say? I'm
a slow stitcher with limited stitching time.


Which isn't to say that I can't dream of the day when I
have a whole lot of free time to stitch (and read, and
visit blogs) to my heart's content. And I can collect
charts and floss and fabric for when that happy time
arrives. And so I scrolled through the new charts and
goodies from the St. Charles Market and made note of
the things that made my heart beat faster, and my
Visa card grow heavier.

And this is the pattern that has my soul singing!!!
Now, I have to admit that I don't own a single, solitary
chart of any sort by Blackbird Designs. Nary a one.
I admire their designs, and I do admit that I'd like to
add Their Song to my heaps of charts waiting to be
stitched, but other then that .... nothing. But this one.
This design. It calls my name. It really does.

So what new release has your stitching fingers
tingling and reaching for the debit card???


This weekend I joined Curves, and had my introductory
tour of the Georgetown facility on Saturday morning.
Since the advent of winter will probably put an end to
my walking, or at the very least curtail it considerably,
I've been looking for alternatives to keep myself active
and I think Curves might just fit the bill. I tried out
the equipment, and it really does seem like I'll get a
good, all over workout from the three visits a week that
they recommend for their program.

DH has been entertaining a cold since Thursday, and
even took a day off of work on Friday to rest up and
keep the germs away from the workplace. What with
all the fuss and bother about the H1N1 virus, flue
season and what all else, we're being encouraged by
the government to stay home if we're sick. So far
I've managed to avoid contamination, and hope I
haven't jinxed myself by putting that down in print.


Since I'm reading the final chapters of a wonderful book,
right now but don't want to tell you about it until I've
finished it, I'll write instead about another book that I read
last month and loved.

Mackenzie Ford is an alias (according to the book's jacket)
for a well known and respected historian living in London.

This story takes place during the first world war, and begins
during that famous occasion that you may have heard about,
the unofficial truce that occurred on Christmas Eve 1914.
At that time, the soldiers on both sides of the lines in France
ceased hostilities, and for 24 hours they ventured from their
trenches and mingled together, exchanging small gifts,
talking and putting the war and it's horrors aside for the sake
of the day.

Two officers meet in no-mans-land and exchange gifts and
small talk. English officer Hal Montgomery meets German
officer Wilhelm Wetzlar and during the course of their
meeting Wilhelm gives Hal a photograph of a beautiful
young English woman named Sam, who is his fiance.
Wilhelm asks Hal to seek out Sam, if he is able, and let
her know that he is alive and has not forgotten her and
loves her still. Wilhelm lived in England for a time before
the war, and taught German at a school in Stratford, where
he met Sam, and fell in love. Reluctantly Hal takes the
picture and agrees to the request.

Not long afterward Hal is injured in the fighting, is
invalided out of the army, and returns to England to
recover from his wounds. Once released from the
hospital he sets out to find Sam, and indeed does
find her easily as she is still teaching at the same
school where she met Wilhelm. Hal observes the
beautiful young woman for a time before attempting
to approach her with the message entrusted to him
during the Christmas truce and before too long falls
in love with her himself.

Sams situation is precarious as Hal soon realizes
when he arranges to meet her, as if by chance, and
discovers that she has a baby son. Wilhelm's son.
Scorned and ostracized as an unwed mother,
facing the loss of her job because of it, things would
get much worse for Sam if it were known that the
father of her child was German.

As they spend time together Hal falls more and more
in love, and finds himself unable to give the photo-
graph and the message to Sam that she so desperately
needs to hear. Alone, not knowing the fate of her
fiance and facing the loss of her job because of her
baby and unmarried status, Sam is still very much in
love with Wilhelm but does not know if he is alive or
if he still loves her.

A relationship begins to develop between the two,
and Hal chooses not to give the photograph to Sam
in the hope that she will forget Wilhelm and come
to love him instead. Eventually the two move to
London, living as a family, and Hal begins working
for military intelligence, meeting Sams family and
building a life with her, while guarding his secret
that would change everything.

I was intrigued by the set up of this story, and I
was fascinated by the history of the era and the
circumstances that the main characters find
themselves in. Though Hal's choice is deceitful,
his motive is a strong, wholehearted love for Sam
that I couldn't help but feel sympathy for.

Since I don't know the author's true identity I
don't know if he/she has ever written anything
else before this work of fiction, but this novel is
a fascinating depiction of the times, the people,
the hardships, the sacrifices and the consequences
of a choice made out of love. I enjoyed it very
much.


I haven't carved a pumpkin as yet, but I did decorate
one this weekend. These decorations are just poked
into the pumpkin, and came from Avon. Kinda cute
eh???


Then this behavior resulted in me having to move my
pumpkin kitty up off of the floor and out of reach of
annoying, pesky, cheeky orange cats.

It's getting close to bed time so I'd best finish off this
post and get it loaded onto my blog. Hope you have
a wonderful week, and thanks for stopping by.

Cheers!

Greetings all!! I'm trying to compose and post a complete
blog post on blogger before my bed time, and I'm typing
with Phoebe in my arms (she's using my arm as a resting
place for her paws while she washes them, and the rest of
her furry self) so I've got a bit of a handicap here. Lets see
if I can manage to pull this off.


First order of business....I forgot about this project when I was
putting together last week's blog post, and since I've been
working on it a bit this weekend it's appropriate that I show it
off now.

Last year I stitched a LHN design for Rupert (orange cat) so
it's only fair that this year I stitch something for Phoebe (grey
cat). This is a freebie from Gazette 94 (I think) and it's all
done in pinks which suits Phoebe's personality to a T since
she is a very feminine cat.

I worked on this while at Kathy's for the stitcher's gathering
and I even managed to stitch on it while taking the bus back
to Toronto at the end of that weekend. It helped pass the
travel time nicely. So I have one and a half cats left to stitch
plus a few hearts and the rest of the checkerboard border and
then we'll have another finish. This is a really cute design
and I think Phoebe must really like it because I caught her
earlier this evening tea-cozied on it, napping. Sigh!!!


New release from LHN. The Library. I want!!!!

(picture borrowed from LHN website)


Today DH and I cleaned the living room and we got out
the Halloween/Autumn decorations since of course
Fall arrived this week. I love having my Fall decorations
out and find it hard to resist buying/collecting a great
deal more then I already have. A serious lack of storage
space prevents me from going hog wild, although one or
two new pieces always seem to sneak in once in awhile.


Last year I took a picture of the above table all decorated as
a reference for this years decorating so as to avoid the "now
where did I put this again??? And this??? And this!!" syndrome.
It makes the decorating process much more efficient and quicker.
But for some reason I did not take a picture of the room divider
last year. I've done both this year and you lucky people get to see
them here. Next years decorating should be a breeze. Uh huh.


If you want to see what I've been reading since May you'll
have to refer to the list at the side of my blog here. But
this is the book that I just finished last week for you to see.
And especially for Kathy who asked me if I'd read it yet.

This is Jacqueline Carey's latest release, and the start of
another trilogy. This one takes place a hundred years after
the first six books (two trilogies) and I wondered when it
came out if I would enjoy it as much since it wouldn't
feature any of the characters that I'd grown to love from
the earlier books. The answer is a resounding YES!!!!

Carey retains her position as my favorite fantasy writer
as she brings all of her talent as a storyteller and as a
creator of worlds and people as three dimensional and
fascinating as you could possibly wish to this, her ninth
book. This is an author whose books I grab as soon as
they are published. I don't wait for reviews or descriptions
of the storyline since I know I'll love it.

Kathy, get this one. It's every bit as good as the others!!

*******************************************************

In August DH and I went out and bought a new mattress
to replace the nearly 20 year old mattress that we'd
received as a wedding gift from his parents. Now
mattresses have changed a lot in the past 20 years so
we weren't sure just what to look for when we went to
Sleep Country Canada. But the salesman was very
helpful and guided us through the store and it's row
upon row of beds. We made our choice and a week
later it was delivered.

The delivery guys (in their trademark booties worn
over their shoes to protect our carpets) put the new
mattress and box spring in place on the bed and
took our old set off to be either donated to charity
or to be taken to a recycling place if it was deemed
too old and worn out for further use.


When the delivery guys were gone I went upstairs
to put sheets on the bed and discovered that Rupert
was the first one to try out the new purchase. He
must have liked it because he was asleep in no time
and I had to delay putting on the bedding until he
woke up.

We've been getting use to the new pillow top style
of this mattress, although it didn't take me long to
settle in and decide that I loved it!! So cozy and
cushiony and sink-into comfortable. The height of
the thing sort of gave me pause as it's quite a bit
higher then our old bed, so getting in and out
requires a bit of finesse and a good hop to achieve.
When sitting on the bed my feet dangle a good
six inches off the floor. DH, at six foot five inches,
just walks up to the bed, turns around, and sits.
The cats take a bit of a run at it but seem to take
the added height in stride when bed time comes
around. I wouldn't care to fall out of bed in the
middle of the night now though.

*********************************************

I am so overwhelmed and delighted with all the
visitors and comments that have been left here
in the past week since I posted my previous blog
entry. After such a long time I didn't expect so
many to remember me. Thank you for the warm
welcome back and if I haven't paid you a return
visit yet then be sure that I will at some point
this coming week.

And thank you as well for all the wonderful
compliments and encouragement regarding
my weight loss as well. I only went down another
4 oz last week, which is probably thanks to all the
delicious food at the party we'd gone to on the
Saturday. But a loss is a loss, regardless of how
little it might be. I'll take it.

No parties, barbecues or meals out this weekend
and I've been working hard on my exercise
regime so hopefully things will be better this week.
Next week I'm going to be joining Curves and we'll
see what I can achieve with their program and their
equipment. I'll be rejoining Weight Watchers for
another six month run this week too. Maybe by
next Spring I'll be lifetime!


And here's a picture of the two darlings of the household
since I didn't include any pictures of them in the last post.

We're into true Autumn weather here now, with cooler
temperatures and rain. It's the first rain that we've had
in over three weeks though and so it was welcome. We
even had a bit of a light frost last week, although it didn't
touch the plants in our backyard. People are decorating
their front porches and yards with scarecrows, hay bales,
pumpkins and pots of Chrysanthemums in a wonderful
assortment of Fall colors. I love this time of year!!!

Have a great week everyone and thanks for visiting.
It's great to be back!

What I Did On My Summer Vacation...

Many days, weeks and (to my shame) months have passed since
I last updated my blog. Somehow I just let time get away from me
during the summer months and did not make much of an effort to
tend to my blog. I could sit here and list all kinds of reasons why
that happened, but you don't really want to read all that now do you?
So I'll just launch into a regular post full of pictures and news and
leave the rest be. So here we go....


I finished a project!! Oh yes, I did! And here's a picture to
prove it. The little birds that I started waaayyyy back in May
was finished sometime this summer, though I can't remember
when exactly, and has now taken up residence in my "Done
Drawer". A freebie from somewhere or other on the internet
that caught my eye and charmed me, stitched with a lovely
variegated thread that I think was Crescent Colors Ladybug.
I think the fabric color is Bittersweet and is, of course, an
evenweave.


And here is yet another finish for you to marvel about .... er ...
over. From My Aunt's Attic comes this wonderful design that
also charmed my socks off. I stitched this one with a variegated
thread from those most awesome and talented Threadworx folks.
I love these threads so much I decided to start collecting them
and now get a bunch of them sent to me from Stitching Bits and
Bobs each month. Anyways, this design was fun to stitch and it
turned out beautifully, if I do say so myself.


An on going project that is actually quite close to completion is
this wonderful Prairie Schooler piece. I've actually got a good
portion of the final sixth square stitched and all I need to do is
park my butt in a chair and apply my needle diligently to fabric
for an hour or less and voila!! I stitched this one as a gift for a
friend (originally a birthday gift, but now it'll be for a Christmas
gift) but it's going to be mighty hard to let go. Every time that
I stitched a square I decided that it was my favorite square of
them all....until I stitched the next square and decided that that
one was really my most favorite of all...until I stitched the next
square and .... Well, you get the idea.

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The highlight of my summer vacation has got to be the long
Labor Day weekend when I finally got the opportunity to
attend my first stitcher's gathering at Kathy's (Kathy's Sit
and Stitch - though I'm sure you all know who I mean)
beautiful cottage on the shores of Lake Ontario.

I've been blogging friends with Kathy, Dani, and Beatrice
for several years now, and I almost attended last year's
gathering but had to cancel literally at the last minute
because of my Mom going into hospital. So the chance
to go to this years event was doubly exciting for me.

I was nervous and so very excited. The week before the
long weekend I was counting the hours and the minutes
before I could leave work and head out. I took a
Greyhound bus from Toronto on Friday after work that
took two hours to reach Trenton where Kathy met me
and drove me to her cottage.

Kathy was sporting a spiffy new hair do that I didn't get to
appreciate (stare at) until we reached her cottage since
it was too dark at the bus stop for me to really see
(gawk at) her. Kathy and her 13 year old grand daughter
had both had their bangs dyed purple that day. It was
totally cool and fun and so very much a "Kathy" thing to
do I think. The lady is crazy fun and doesn't allow the
sometimes dismaying developments in life to get the best
of her. Purple bangs is Kathy thumbing her nose at the
fates.


Here are Christin, Dani and Kathy. I took this picture on the
final day (Monday) of the weekend and you can see the purple
bangs of defiance a wee bit here. For a better picture go to
Kathy's blog.


Here is the group photo taken by Dani of the stitchers that
gathered on the Saturday to stitch, talk and eat. I'm the
gal with the goofy bit grin and pink t-shirt on the right.


A group of stitchers hard at work around Kathy's dining room
table. Adriana on the left, Angie in the middle (back) and
Beatrice.


And more stitchers hard at it. What a dedicated bunch. Bonnie
in dark blue, Cristin and Fran.

I'm thinking that these ladies are Fran, Trista and Rebbecca
and under the hat would be Dani.


The most famous of stitchers in Ontario has to be this lady.
Adriana. At age 93 she attended the gathering on both
Saturday and Sunday, and was going strong both days well
into the evening. An incredible stitcher and a gracious lady.
It was so wonderful to meet her in person.


We did arts and crafts. Yes, we did. Here are Donna and Laura
(I think) being taught how to make folding Ort boxes by Kathy.
Kathy has a lot of patience. She even managed to teach me how
to cut, fold and maneuver pieces of wallpaper into these clever
little boxes. Well, she showed me how to make these things.
Whether I could manage to create another one on my own is
debatable.


Donna finished stitching her part on a friendship sampler
during the weekend and passed it on to Kathy to add her
bit to it. Photographers were there to capture the historic
occasion on film. That's Dani in between the two of them
(sort of) making her own little contribution to the moment.


Beatrice and Dani caught up in the moment, with Adriana
looking on in bemusement.


This is Ann behind the counter of her shop Knowledge and
Needles.

On Saturday afternoon Dani was kind enough to drive a
few of us to Brighton to visit Knowledge and Needles, the
cross stitch store run by Ann from her home. What fun
that was. Meeting Ann, exploring the shop, meeting Ann's
beautiful dogs, exploring the shop, looking at cross stitch
models stitched and framed and hanging in the house and
the shop, exploring the shop....

The weather was absolutely fabulous for all three days of the
gathering. We had pot luck on Saturday with all kinds of
wonderful dishes to sample, and on Sunday Kathy made
brunch for those that returned for a second day of stitching.
Dani, Christin and I were the only ones who stayed with
Kathy for the three days. Everyone else commuted. I ate
so much during that weekend, but thanks to Dani who
allowed me to go out walking with her in the morning and
again at night on both Saturday and Sunday, I managed not
to gain any weight.

Leaving to go home on Monday was so very hard. The
weekend flew by so fast and was so much fun. Getting
to meet all those wonderful, talented stitchers and
being inspired by them and their various projects.

Best of all though was getting to meet Kathy, Dani
and Beatrice, and Christin and Rebbecca and Ann,
whose blogs I've read for a long time now, in person.
It was a fabulous weekend. Thank you Kathy for
inviting me, housing me and feeding me and
driving me to and from the bus.


This picture of me was taken back at the beginning of
August when we had our second annual Christmas in
August party. I wanted a full length picture taken
to show off my weight loss. At that time I'd lost 40
pounds thanks to Weight Watchers and walking ....
a lot. Since that time I have lost another 11 pounds
and last week I celebrated passing the 50 pound mark.

Got another charm for my key chain Dani!

Note: Weight Watchers gives you a key chain when
you loose 10 percent of your starting weight, and then
gives you a charm to add to the key chain when you
loose 25, 50, 75 and 100 pounds...if you're going that far).

I've been shopping for new clothes this month because
my old Fall and Winter wardrobe didn't fit any more, or
was old and worn out. It's been years since I've been
shopping and actually enjoyed the experience and I use to
avoid it as much as possible. But we put out 5 green garbage
bags of my old, outgrown clothes for pick up by a local charity
a few weeks ago and so I needed new everything.

The picture at the beginning of this long, long post is of
me, DH Phil and my Mom during the Christmas in August
party. Phil is wearing his toque and red shirt in honor of
the occasion.

And on that note I'd best finish off this epic post and see
if there's a bit of time left to stitch before dinner. Best
wishes to you all.

Cheers! Judy

Hello. Remember me???

I can't believe that it's the end of May already. One more
week and we'll be into June. The weeks have just flown
by and I'm terribly behind in my blog posting and my
commenting. I've been visiting everyone as usual, but
that's all. I've been spending these past few weeks
adapting to the lifestyle changes that I started making
at the end of March and getting use to the shift in my
priorities and the loss of a good deal of my leisure time. I
want to get back into participation as well as observation
when it comes to blogging and that will be my next goal
in this journey. Please be patient with me.


My progress on Prairie Schooler's Prairie Birds. Strictly my
at work project so progress is slow considering the relative
simplicity of these designs. I have finished the Blue Birds
and am now making a start on the Robins. Here's a close
up first of the latest part finished and the start of the next
square.


And this is the whole project. I took these pictures outside today
but it was cloudy when I did it so these are a wee bit darker then
they are in real life. I do love this grouping and I suspect that I'm
going to find it hard to let it go when I'm done. When it comes to
this particular design grouping choosing which of the birds to
stitch is the really hard part. They are all so wonderful.


If I have the time to do so I stitch on my butterflies at night
and on weekends. The challenge of this design is of course
that first you stitch the butterfly upside down, then sideways
and then right side up, and then sideways again. Love the
Threadworx thread that I'm using for the first time on this
project. Gorgeous stuff.


Last week I was on vacation. And when you are on
vacation it's tempting to start something new and
to focus on stitching that piece during your time off.
Well, if you're me that's what you do anyways. So
here we have a little freebie that I am stitching on
a cut of Bittersweet evenweave, using Crescent
Colours Ladybug. Since taking this picture this
morning I've added another layer of branches and
have one more layer to add after that and then it
will be done. It was a lovely day to sit under a tree
in the backyard and stitch, and so that's what I
did. Hopefully I'll get this one finished this week
and can enjoy a little happy dance.


My friend Amy across the street has five kids that she
home schools. The house is full of kids and pets and
it's always fun when I go over there for tea and a visit.
There's always something going on and everyone's
going a mile a minute and doing a dozen different
activities and Amy is in the middle of it, laughing
and guiding and teaching, loving and patient.
Such a different lifestyle from ours.

Two weeks ago Amy and her family adopted a pair
of puppies and we've all fallen in love with them.
Any excuse I can find to go over there and snuggle
a puppy for a few minutes I use. So here is Biscuit,
the biggest of the two puppy brothers, and I getting
to know one another. Hmmm.... Do you think Phoebe
would let me get a puppy????

No, me neither.


A week ago the cherry trees lining our driveway were
at their peak for blossoming and all three trees were
loaded with flowers. These were planted about 11
years ago and each Spring they give us this wonderful
display. In the winter time the cherries (which are
not suitable for humans to eat) are feasted on by
various birds including Ceder Waxwings, Pine
Grosbeaks and Robins. I think these are the only
things available to the Robins to eat when they first
return here from their Winter migration.



I discovered the video making feature on my
camera last week....

I've had the durn thing for a couple of years
now and have just discovered this feature now.
A techie wiz I am not!! But I digress....

I was sitting here stitching and Rupert and
Phoebe were laying together on the pillow
next to me. Rupert's tail is always twitching
and Phoebe can't resist it. As you'll see if
I manage to get this video loaded here
correctly.

Did I mention that I'm not a techie wiz???

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During my vacation I started taking longer
walks and am now walking 50 minutes a
day. I don't know how that'll work when I
go back to work tomorrow but somehow
I want to keep doing that routine if possible.
I have been going in the morning when I
first get up, around 7:30 or 8:00, during my
vacation but will be going in the evenings on
work days.

Weight Watcher's program has been good
for me and as of last Tuesday I've gotten
rid of 14 and a half pounds!!! Considering
the food that I'm eating this amazes me.
But I've gone from a completely sedentary
lifestyle and unrestricted eating of foods
of the less then healthy variety to exercise
and healthier eating so I think that my body
is responding to those changes quicker then
it probably will as time goes further along.

Well, it's almost time for bed so I'll close
by saying thanks for dropping by and
reading my blog. I appreciate the visits
and most especially the comments.

Happy stitching! Cheers!