Today marks the final day of my first week of holidays for this
year. Sigh!!! Where did the time go??? It was, of course,
wonderful to have the time to do whatever I wished, or to do
nothing if I wished. So what exactly did I do with my time?

To begin with, the latest issue of Victoria magazine arrived
at the beginning of the week and so I spent some quality
time relaxing with a cup of tea, and this magazine. As the
magazine's title says....Bliss!!

It was cool to see a couple of articles that feature Canadian
subjects. The 100th anniversary of the Empress Hotel in
Victoria, B.C. and the gardens of Hatley Castle, also in B.C.
Since my maiden name is Hattey I could just about imagine
that the article was about Hattey castle. If only..... Lol!

Hey, did you know that the publishers of Victoria are also
the publishers for Sampler and Antique Quarterly magazine
and for Just Cross Stitch magazine???


I spent Tuesday morning cleaning the library. I have been
squeezing new books in there with a shoe horn lately as the
shelves are full, the tops of the bookcases are just about
covered and you can only pile them on tables and things to
a certain height before they start to tumble. I was able to
transfer some big coffee table books to a bookcase in the
den, sacrificing nicknack display space in the process, and
thus opened up space for transferring books from the top of
the big bookcase. So now I have space on top of the book
case for new books for another year. Are you still with me??
What will I do next year when that space is full again, you
may be asking......Don't ask!!!

I've been stitching too, of course. I started working on the
next Country Garden square, which is Daisy. This photo is
a bit washed out, because the daisy colour (Magnolia Blossom)
actually shows up quite well against this material. And the
Blueberry Tart used to frame the flower name is very pretty.

And I've been building a bee hive on my older project. I
actually changed something on this design that I wasn't
too keen on. The pink flower was suppose to be a patch,
sort of like what you'd see on the knee of a pair of pants.
I didn't think that it belonged on a bee hive however, so
I took a flower from another design in the book and put
it there instead. There is a green leaf vine to be put onto
the bee hive, which will compliment the flower better
then it would a patch.

Got a wee package from Mary Kathryn this week with more
lovely thread in it. And this sweet chart from LHN which is
going to be a delight to stitch. I've ordered the red silk
thread to stitch this with but they have yet to come.

----------------------------------------------------------------

I met my friend Charmaine for lunch and shopping at
Yorkdale mall on Thursday. We had a lovely lunch,
shopped for books (for me) and children's clothes
(for her....kids) and talked and talked and talked.
I came home footsore, but buoyed by the outing and
our discussions about everything from crafts to kids
(I listened), to politics.

I made use of the new tv some, and watch a couple
of episodes of Medium ~ Season One, which I'd gotten
recently. Good show. I look forward to more of this.
I picked up the first season of Bones while at Yorkdale
since I missed getting into it when it began. Love Mr
Boreanaz ever since Angel.

I found the answers you all gave to my question as to
what books should be made into movies or tv series
quite interesting. Especially since everyone had a
different preference. I have to agree with Wendy,
that seeing Diana Gabaldon's Outlander translated
to tv would be awesome!! It's been optioned and
dropped, and optioned again so many times, but no
one has really been able to get the thing made. A
shame really. But then....Wendy....who'd they get
to play Jamie and Claire????

I'd like to see what someone would do with Stephenie
Meyer's Twilight series too. I see they've announced
the next book in that series Breaking Dawn, which
will be released in August. Great!!! I can't wait. And
the chance to see these books made into a movie or
tv show (whatever) would also be cause for debate.
Who on earth could you find to portray the gorgeous
Edward????

-----------------------------------------------------

It also seems that most of you prefer not to stitch
something that features another country's flag,
unless you were doing it for a gift. Although I
liked Sue's suggestion of stitching something for
each country you've traveled to, if you've been
lucky enough to travel a bit. I'm still liking that
Heart of America pattern by LHN. Especially
after seeing it being featured by Nicole at
Carolina Dreams, with the threads laid out next
to the pattern, and the little buttons to be used
on it.

-------------------------------------------------

Jaimie, we've been watching your leadership
races for each party with great interest here. It's
been the topic of conversation at work, where
one of our girls sits up 'till all hours to catch the
results of each Primary. With the race between
Obama and Clinton garnering the most attention.
The debate as to which of those two candidates
would be best to run for the Presidency is both
passionate and enthusiastic. And we can't even
vote!

I've got to go and get ready because I'm off to
my Mom's for lunch and an afternoon of stitching
and jig saw puzzle solving. DH will be spending
his afternoon trying to hook up the new HD
cable box which arrived this week. He was not
impressed when he saw that box, and all the
cables and stuff that came with it. After spending
last weekend hooking up the new tv to all the
gadgets and equipment, now he has to do it all
over again. I figured it would be best for me to
get out of the house (if not the province) and leave
him to it.

So I'll leave you with another question series:
Will you be watching the Academy Awards show
tonight??? Will you watch the whole thing???
Are you a loyal follower of this awards show???
Have you seen any or all of the movies nominated
for best picture??? What do you love about the
Academy Awards...if anything??? What do you
hate???

And finally....shhhhhh....don't let the cat out of the bag!!!

:) Have a great week everyone. Cheers!

Yikes!! I've been tagged by both Lynn and Beatrice.
That doesn't mean that I have to post 7 weird things times
two does it??? I'll do what I can with this. Bear with me
folks!


1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post THE RULES on your blog.
3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link to them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged


1) I was a big Osmond Brothers fan when I was in my teens.
Saw them in concert about 9 times. I still have a soft spot
in my heart for the older guys. Not so much Donny or
Marie.

2) I've posted this before in another meme but I have a rare
blood type. AB RH negative.

3) I love Vampires. Books, movies, or tv series. But not too
gory please. (just realized that I listed this after my
rare blood type. Lol!)

4) I have an insect phobia, but my main terror is reserved
for spiders. I freak!!

5) I love end of the world movies. Day After Tomorrow,
Twister, Independence Day, Deep Impact.

6) I don't watch much tv either. I prefer the computer,
books, music and stitching.

7) I have over 3000 books in my library. I am pretty
much running out of room to put them. But they
keep writing them.


I don't know who to tag next. And I'm not too good at
linking with other blogs. So if you haven't been tagged
yet, consider yourself tagged. Come on now...we
want to know everything!!!


Cheers all!!

Good morning, and good week everyone. It's a dreary Sunday
morning here in Georgetown, with freezing rain warnings out,
and rain forecast for this afternoon as temperatures rise to
4 degrees Celsius. A good day to stay indoors.

It's been quite cold here for much of this week, and we've had
another snow storm. But we've been having so many snow
storms, in every week this season, they're all sort of just running
into one another in our minds. It's hard to remember which
incident happened during which storm. Suffice it to say that
we're quite ready for Spring to arrive. Please!!

Thought I'd post a picture of the book that I'm taking my
latest stitching project from. This isn't the best picture,
(the colour is off) but at least you get an idea of what it
looks like. There are some terrific projects in here, and
they correspond to the four seasons. Very colourful,
and great for stitching onto clothing, as well as the more
traditional uses.

And here is where I am today. I've finished the bunny
and stitched the topiary, although it still needs some red
beads or colonial knots for flowers, to be added. I added
a bee to the flower section but that was taken from
another design in the book. I'm quite pleased with how
it turned out, although it was fiddlie with a lot of quarter
stitches.
And here's a close up of the section that I've been
working on. I might add another bee once I've finished
stitching the bee hive, and then I'll consider adding a
boarder or not. There are other motifs in this design
that I love but I don't think I'll add anything more
after the bee hive.

I'm on holidays this week, which has me in an
excellent mood, as you can imagine. Tomorrow is
a province wide holiday.....our very first Family
Day. We've been wanting a holiday in February
for ages, and one of the Premier of Ontario's first
acts after being re-elected last year was to
declare a holiday on the third Monday of February.
I think it's the first campaign promise that he's
ever kept in all of his years in office.....okay, I'm
exaggerating....a little.

I received a couple of packages in the mail this week,
which is always a cause for excitement and rejoicing.
The first was from Mary Kathryn, and her most
excellent on line LNS, and service. This is a part of
what I ordered. Stocking up on thread for projects,
and a piece of fabric for a Stitchy Kitty design.

And last weekend I made my first order from the
Etsy handcrafts site. I saw some of the things that
Monique (at http://mymarkdesigns.wordpress.com/)
had posted in her Etsy shop and I was so charmed by
them that I had to visit, and then register and place
an order. I ordered a thread holder, which you can
just see in the upper left corner of the picture, a
zipper fob with the prettiest blue bead, white tassel
and lacy gold flower charm, and a LHN scripture
series package. I was astonished when this package
arrived on Thursday because I wasn't expecting to
see it so soon.

---------------------------------------------------

Since I had a dentist appointment on Thursday (yes,
a dentist appointment on Valentine's Day...I'm such
an incurable romantic) the arrival of this little
package was a great pick me up. Not having any
cavities was also a great pick me up. The lovely card
that DH gave me that morning wasn't too shabby
either.

We celebrated Valentine's Day last evening with a
visit to the pub and a nice dinner. It was cozy and
warm, with a fire going in the fireplace, and great
food and a warm welcome from our friends Brenda
and her daughter Tracey. We've been going to the
Copper Kettle Pub in Glen Williams since moving
here 16 years ago and it's the place we go to for
celebrations.

Last night's treat was the desert platter that they
make up for Valentine's Day. Selections of deserts,
from Cheesecake to Lava Cake....little tarts to a
piece of caramel torte....a mound of whipped cream
and a scoop of lemon sorbet...and mixed berries
scattered around the platter....oh, and chocolate
dipped Strawberries too!!! One platter, two spoons.
It was heavenly!!!

------------------------------------------------

DH deserved a treat after spending yesterday
afternoon patiently putting the new tv together.
It was delivered early yesterday morning, while
he was out at the monthly men's breakfast at the
church, and so when he got home from that he
started unpacking everything.

I left him to it because I just don't have the patience,
or the brain, for such work. He had to hook up the
new DVD player, the VCR, the surround sound, the
Nintendo player, and the cable. He read the instruction
booklets (Simple Instructions for Installing Your New
Home Theatre.....Yeah, uh huh....whatever!!!) and went
at it. There were wires, cables, nuts and bolts and
hand held converters everywhere. It looked like he
was training for a job with the shuttle crew to build
new sections of the space station.

Everything was working last night, except for the
surround sound. That part has him stumped. There
is sound coming out of the tv itself, but all the little
speakers scattered around the room are silent.
He's going to speak to some of the tech savy people
at church this morning to see if any of them can give
him some advice/help. Failing that I suppose there's
always thirteen year old Dakota across the street.

Monique: a 42 inch tv is cool, but it is by far so not
the biggest tv available. I think you might say it's
one of the mid-sized tv's that are available. For the
size of the room that we have it in, and the stand that
it's on, it's the biggest we could accommodate. Our
friends just got a tv that's a 58 inch model. It's huge!!
You don't need to go to the movie theatre anymore
with a tv that size in your family room.

-----------------------------------------------------

I finished reading Atonement last Tuesday, and if I
hadn't been at work at the time, on lunch, I think I
might have shed a few tears at the outcome. What
a sad, tragic story. As I mentioned before, I didn't
find it easy to get into at first, but I persevered and
there were parts of the story, such as when Robbie
was in France, and when Briony was doing her
hospital training, that I just lost myself in the
narrative. Author Ian McEwan gave vivid, detailed
descriptions of that era during WWII, so that the
experiences of the characters were as clear to my
mind's eye as if I were watching a television program.

I haven't seen the movie yet Cathey, but I certainly
want to now after reading the book. I'm always
curious to see how a book is translated into a movie
or tv series. Usually, unfortunately, the movie
doesn't seem to do the book justice.

Here's a question for all of you book and movie
lovers out there, if you care to think about it.

What book that you love would you like to see turned
into a movie or tv mini-series??

-----------------------------------------------------

I haven't seen many designs out of Nashville that
have got me champing at the bit to order and stitch.
I rather like the new LHN Heart of America, but I'm
not sure that I'd stitch it since....well.....I'm not
American.

What do you think my dear fellow Canadian stitchers
and everyone else for that matter. Would the fact that
a design is geared towards a country other then your
own stop you from stitching it and hanging it
(or whatever) in your home???

Hmmm.....And I was wondering what I was going
to type about this morning. If you've lasted
through all of the blather above....good for you.
Hope you all have a wonderful week. Have a
great stitchy time. And take care.

Cheers.

Hi there everyone. I'm late posting today. I had to get my
Sunday chores done early this morning because I was going
to my Mom's for lunch and an afternoon visit. So it's evening
here on a bitterly cold Sunday and everyone with a bit of
sense is hibernating indoors. It's -17 Celsius, but with the
wind chill it's at least ten degrees colder then that out.

Spent the afternoon with my Mom working on a jigsaw
puzzle that she had started in her room. We both love
doing puzzles, but I don't have much of a chance to do them
here because Rupert keeps trying to steal the pieces and
either hiding them, or eating them. Sort of the same thing
that he does with my DMC threads if I don't watch him
like a hawk.

I'm seriously behind in my commenting this week because
it was first of the month at work and that meant long hours
and very tired eyes from extreme computer use. I was too
fried at the end of each day to string two sentences together,
never mind make semi-intelligent comments on people's
blogs. I'll be doing catch up this week, as things at work
should be calmer and saner....well, one can hope anyways.

So here's an update of my currant project, which is now in
it's fourth week. I've been working on the bunny's face
and I think the expression is adorable. I used Colonial knots
for the eyes and they turned out pretty good. Must
remember to give the blue bird an eye too. I hope to finish
the bunny this week, and then put on the next image which
will be either a topiary or a bee hive

---------------------------------------------------------

Yesterday DH and I went out and bought a tv. A simple
statement for a not so simple action. DH has been keeping
an eye on the fliers in our local paper for good deals, and
found something that was pretty much what we wanted
on sale at Future Shop. So off we went.

I can now announce that we are the proud owners of a 42"
Panasonic Plasma tv, with surround sound, 5 disc DVD
player and 8 months of free HD tv from our local cable
provider. The tv is being delivered next Saturday, since
there was no way we were going to be able to stuff it into
our car, although we brought all the other stuff home with
us.

It works out quite nicely, since I'm off that week on
one weeks vacation, so I'll have the new toy all to myself
during the day. I've got some new DVD's to watch,
and I can't wait to watch the Lord of the Rings Trilogy
on it!!!

While out and about, we also stopped at Michaels so that
I could pick up some DMC threads that I was getting low
on. I also bought a magnifier for use at home, which
will make stitching on smaller count fabrics much easier,
I hope.

------------------------------------------------------

We have had some serious weather in the past week,
with a really major snow storm, packing a double
whammy, hitting us on Tuesday/Wednesday. The
first part of the storm arrived overnight on Tuesday
night and was going full tilt when we left for work....
of course. Then, it tapered off around noon and
things were calm until.....it was time to go home
again!! Then we got dumped on some more. In
total about 30 cm of snow, perhaps more.

DH shoveled the driveway twice on Wednesday night
and still had to go out and shovel again on Thursday
morning before we could drive to work. And he had
to chisel the car out, because of a bit of freezing rain
that coated the car with ice before it was blanketed
with snow. Will this winter never end????


I started reading Atonement last week, but I'm still
a day or two away from finishing it. I have found the
writing, at least in the first section of the book, a bit
of a slow go to read. Lot's of description of the
characters thoughts, motivations and actions. It's
not a quick read by any means, although it's not a
big book. The second section is moving along much
faster and I've been able to loose myself in the story
more. Or perhaps I've just gotten into the writer's
rhythm at last, I don't know.

And finally, a picture of Phoebe flaked on her blanket,
on the desk next to my computer. I love how relaxed
cats get when they sleep. Twisted into impossible
shapes, and in Phoebe's case wheezing as she sleeps.

Cheers everyone!!

Good day all. It's Sunday morning, and I'm sitting here
browsing through blog land and thinking of what to write
here on my own humble, slightly long winded blog. ;)

First order of business is to up date on my progress on
my currant no name project. The picket fence section
of the design is almost done and I'm moving on to the
next feature of the piece. I'll not say what this will be,
except to hint that there is a bit of the design started
here, and a wee bit of that is even back stitched.

I'm sure everyone is anxiously (rabidly) waiting for
the new releases from Nashville, and will be overloading
systems at online LNS's everywhere by weeks end.
Remember ladies to pace yourselves, take frequent
breaks for rest and fluids, and please make sure that
you are dressed appropriately and give your credit
cards a chance to cool down every once in awhile.

---------------------------------------------------

The weather here was a bit wild on Friday. After
multiple storms over the course of this winter season,
all of which arrived on weekends or holidays when
traveling wasn't as necessary as on work days, our
luck ran out. The brunt of the storm hit just as the
morning rush hour was getting underway and made
for an interesting trip.

We'd had plenty of warning to allow us to prepare for
the worst, and those that had the option wisely chose
to remain at home. The schools here in the Halton
Hills area were closed for the day, as well as in other
areas of the Greater Toronto area.

DH and I left here at 6:45 and arrived at my work in
Mississauga at 7:40, which all things considered
wasn't too bad. Just 20 minutes longer then usual.
After dropping me off DH headed up to Vaughn,
where he works, which is usually a drive of half an
hour. It took him an hour. He got to work at 8:45.
At 9:15 the boss called in from home and told them
to close the place and send everyone home. He got
home from work just before 11:00. Impressed?
Not so much.

I worked a full day and headed home around 3:45.
By that time the worst was over, at least in the
area around work, and I made pretty normal time
getting home. The sidewalks were still a mess, and
boarding the bus whilst clambering over a mound of
snow plowed into hip high mounds was not a pretty
sight. But I was home by 6:00 and glad to be there.

On Tuesday we're going to be 9 degrees Celsius, with
rain. So the 20 cm of snow that we had on Friday will
probably be pretty much gone again by the end of the
week.


Went out shopping on Saturday and picked up a couple
of chick flicks on DVD that were on sale. I look forward
to watching these soon. I also got Mr Bean's Vacation
for DH, which he was pleased with.

This weeks read was another of Philippa Gregory's
Tudor series. I read The Other Boleyn Girl around
this time last year and was ready to move on to another
book in the series.

The story begins when young King Edward is on the
throne, and suffering from the illness which would
soon take his life. Waiting anxiously in exile in the
country is his oldest sister Mary, only child of
Henry and his first wife Katherine of Aragon, and
devoted to the Catholic faith

Living in London with her father, a printer and
seller of books, is 14 year old Hannah Green. Hannah
and her father were originally from Spain, where
their name was Verde. They fled Spain when
Hannah's mother was taken by the Inquisition and
burned at the stake for being a secret Jew, and
therefore a heretic. Her mother's death haunts
the young Hannah who fears discovery of her faith
and someday sharing her fate.

Hannah, dressed as a boy, and her father fled
across Europe, seeking a place to settle under
an alias which would allow them to work, and
live in peace, and secretly worship according to
the laws and traditions of their faith as best
they can. They arrive in London, where Hannah
has been betrothed in marriage to a young man of
their faith named Daniel, who is studying to be a
doctor.

Hannah is a headstrong young girl, who has
spent half her life masquerading as a boy.
She is well educated, speaks and reads many
languages fluently, and has been helping her
father in his printing business as if she truly
were a boy. She fears loosing that freedom as
she grows up and the time of her marriage to
Daniel draws near.

And Hannah has a special gift. She is a seer, given
to visions of which she has no control over and
cannot command or prevent. While standing
outside her father's shop one day she sees
three men approaching, though when
they enter the shop suddenly one of the party,
a glowing figure whose face Hannah cannot see,
suddenly is no longer there.

Thus is Hannah's gift revealed to the two men,
Dr John Dee, a learned man and seeker of further
knowledge in the laws and unknown sciences of
the world, questioner of all that has been taken on
faith for so many years. And Robert Dudley, the
handsome, intelligent and ambitious son
of Lord John Dudley, protector of the King and
the most powerful man in the land.

Hannah is smitten with the handsome, charismatic
Robert, and soon finds herself in service to him and
to his ambitious father. She becomes the King's
Holy Fool, responsible for speaking only the truth,
in a court where lies are the norm.

Shortly after coming to court Lord John Dudley
orders Hannah to travel to the place where Mary
Tudor lives in poverty, disgrace and exile. There
to befriend and spy on the woman who stands to
inherit the throne from her ailing brother before
too long. Threatened with exposure as a Jew
and fearing for the safety of her father, Hannah
reluctantly travels to the 37 year old princesses
residence and becomes a friend and confidant.

Hannah is a witness, and sometimes reluctant
participant in the events which follow the death
of the young King. From her master's attempts
to marry one of his sons to Lady Jane Grey,
a cousin of the King's, and to place her on the
throne of England instead of Mary, to Mary's
triumphant claiming of the crown when the
country chooses to support her against the
ill fated Jane, to the time of Mary's rule when
luck and fate conspire against her.

Torn between her love and loyalty to Queen
Mary, yet fascinated by the charismatic,
witty and intelligently ruthless Protestant
princess Elizabeth, adoring Robert Dudley,
but developing strong feelings for her betrothed
Daniel, and always fearing for her life, and
her freedom at court, Hannah struggles to
do the right thing, for those she loves and
for herself.

I enjoyed this book, and the many well drawn
and colourful characters that the author
introduces us to, both fictional and historical.
Getting to know Mary Tudor, the bloody Mary
of history, and feeling sympathetic to her sad
life and seeing a side (albeit fictional) of the
Queen in waiting Elizabeth, perhaps England's
greatest monarch who flirts and plots her way
to the throne in a not entirely admirable
way, somewhat altered the vision of that era
and those two Queens that I've always held.

----------------------------------------------

Sandra, the first issue of Victoria magazine
arrived here about a week before Christmas,
amidst great rejoicing and relief. Two days
later the second issue arrived. So now I'm
waiting to see if they can manage to send out
the third issue in a timely fashion. Sorry to
hear about the troubles your distributor's
having getting the second issue. Wonder
what their problem is?? Not an auspicious
beginning for a new magazine.

-------------------------------------------

Lynn, finding time for my main interests,
reading and stitching, is a problem. But an
hour and a half (at least) trip home from
work each day allows much time for reading.
And much as I love stitching, I'd never give
up my books.

I'd love to explore other hobbies, such as
knitting, scrapbooking and card making, but
limited finances and time make it almost
impossible.

I've spent hours in Chapters at any given
time. And we won't even mention the
World's Biggest Bookstore in Toronto.
Time just flies while I'm in a bookstore.

---------------------------------------------

Sue, I'll have to check into Phillip Gulley's
books. I've never heard of him before.
Thanks for the recommendation.

I've got to finish this post. It's too long and I've
got chores to do. So here's another of my Mom's
needlepoint pictures, and a companion to the old
man I posted a picture of previously. What a
sweet face she has.

Take care everyone. Have a great week.

Oh, and our local Ground hog Wiarton Willy did not
see his shadow yesterday, so six more weeks of
winter ahead. Nuts!!! Stupid rodent.