Stash, Books 'n Cats.....Oh My!!!

This is going to be a very picture heavy post. You've been warned. Firstly,
progress report on "Blueberries". Yesterday was a heavily overcast day,
and relatively cool, with temperatures in the low 70's. Please note that I'm
not complaining about the temperature, just reporting it. Around the
corner from us they are putting a new roof on the neighbourhood public
school. The smell of hot tar permeated the atmosphere all day long. All
in all it was a good day to sit in my comfy chair, listen to the radio, read
blogs and cross stitch. The colours in this one are very striking.
Today stash arrived in the mail from those wonderful people at Stitching
Bits n Bobs. I ordered a pile of LHN charts, and the new CCN/Crescent
Colours collaboration, Violet. I saw the completed series for this one on
MaryKathryn's blog (http://marykathryn.wordpress.com/) and it
knocked my socks off!! It will be gorgeous all together on a single piece
of material. I loved Garden Pleasures when I first saw it, but when I
first saw Two White Houses I literally gasped out loud! I LOVE this one!

Being unfamiliar with any of the threads other then DMC I have really
found these LHN designs which come with Crescent Colours threads to
be very helpful in introducing me to the world of hand dyed threads.
And seeing these threads in person allows me to appreciate their vivid,
rich colours, which don't often come through when viewed on the
computer.
I also ordered two Lizzie Kate charts, both of which are reflective of my
favourite season, Autumn, and one of my favourite themes, seasons.
These are my first Lizzie Kate charts and I love how colourful they are.
I also received a fat Quarter of Lakeside Linens 28 count Bittersweet, to
add to my collection of fabric.

Yesterday a neighbour who lives on the cul-du-sac which runs off of the
middle of our street showed up at our door bearing a huge package. It
appears that the post office was once again getting creative when making
their deliveries. Our neighbour lives at 6 Upland Ave, and we live at 6
Hyland Ave. Several times before when I've ordered books the post office
has delivered them to a public school across town. Don't know why. At
least this time they managed to deliver to the correct sub-division, if not
street.

I love Vampire novels. As long as they aren't too heavy on the horror, and
I prefer my vampire to be the hero. So here we have the latest from
Charlaine Harris, who writes books that are a light read, with humour. This
is book 7 in this series, I think. Then we have Stephenie Meyer's latest in
the Young Adult series, which I believe is the concluding book in a trilogy
which began with Twilight and then Eclipse. Or is it the other way around?
Whatever. I loved this series and the love story between Bella and Edward.


I also ordered two recent releases, also by authors that I've read before.
I read The Kite Runner by Khaled Husseini when I was in the book club
last year, and I enjoyed it and the view it gave me into a world that I
know very little about. But I thought at the time that it was a book that
focused almost exclusively on the man's role in this culture, and touched
only very lightly on the woman's role. I understand that in his new book
the author focuses the story on two women, so I'm curious to read it and
see how their lives are portrayed.

Jasper Fforde's weird. Just so's you know right off the bat. Quirky also
comes to mind when thinking of his books. This is the newly released
latest book in his Tuesday Next series. If you love books, and enjoy an
off kilter sense of humour, and have some knowledge of British culture
and history, you might just get a kick out of these books.

I hit the sales section of the on line bookstore and found these gems. I like
actor's biographies so I was glad to get Jane Fonda's book on sale.
Should be an interesting read since her life and career spans the old
Hollywood of her father's generation, as well as her own career which runs
to the Hollywood of the present. I've read a few of Jack Whyte's novels.
He's a Canadian author who writes historical fiction, including tales of
Arthurian England, but without the magic and mythology. I suppose it's
the realistic approach to the stories. The third book, Melusine, is a fantasy.
The story description was interesting, and it has a recommendation on the
cover written by Jacqueline Carey. Hey, if she liked this book that's good
enough for me. I've never read Sarah Monette before so this will be a
nice introduction to a new (to me) author.

Well, there you have it. My credit card is maxed, and it's time to start
behaving myself again. Do me a favour guys....if any new charts come
out that are drop dead, mind blowing, heart stopping, freakin' fantastic,
don't tell me, okay?

I'll end this post with a picture of some furry goodness. Phoebe at the
kitchen table, wondering what's for dinner.