I've been a bad stitcher this week. Barely any stitching was
accomplished during the past seven day period, and what
little was done is not worth showing here. So sad.

Work has been beyond hectic, as the first days of January
always are, and we're short staffed on top of that so I haven't
been taking any breaks. So no stitching at work. And at
home?? Well, I've been reading books, and reading and
commenting on blogs, and that's about it. Oh...and vegging.
So please excuse my laziness and hopefully next week will
be a bit quieter and I'll pick up needle and thread again and
stitch up a storm.


I do have a picture of the latest bit's from Bobbie at
Stitching Bits and Bobs, so I can at least claim some
type of stitchy content for this post. More wonderful
Crescent Colours to add colour to an otherwise gray
and cloudy week.

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Well, the fridge has been emptied of all leftovers.
Even the turnip casserole is nothing but a fond
memory now. The presents have all been distributed
to their respective recipients, and if that hasn't been
possible to do they have been put away in the closet
for safe keeping (the cats like to play with the bows).
And this weekend the Christmas tree and all the
decorations were dismantled and boxed up and put
away.

Yes, it seems that Christmas is now officially OVER!

What a chore dismantling Christmas is around here.
It takes all day to gather everything from around the
house and find the right box to put it in. Then the
smaller boxes have to be packed into bigger boxes
for easier storage. And then DH has to pack it all
back into the storage space under the stairs, which
appears to have shrunk markedly since he removed
everything from there in November.

And then comes the complete and utter joy
of cleaning up the mess left behind. Fake pine
needles can make as much of a grand mess in
your carpets as real ones and it's amazing where
you find them as you go along. We didn't have
a tree anywhere but in the living room, and the
den, so why are there pine needles in the upstairs
washroom, the laundry room in the basement
and (I swear) on the driveway. Same with glitter.
And teeny, tiny beads of Styrofoam.

Then comes the hunt. Where in the house did
I store all the "everyday" knick-knacks, bric-a-brac
and thingamajigs that had to be packed away to make
room for the Christmas stuff. I'm terrible for putting
things out of sight for two months of the year, and then
spending the next ten months seeking them out again.
As of this typing I am still looking for a few things that
belong in the living room but weren't with the rest of
the living room stuff. Sigh!!!

And just think....Easter is just around the corner!!!


Not that we didn't have any help getting things cleaned
up mind you. On one of our many trips upstairs for
something I looked in the computer room and saw
that Rupert had very thoughtfully emptied the garbage
can for me. All over the floor. Seems I'd put a bunch
of those little DMC wrappers in the garbage and, well,
you know how much fun cats find them to be. So now,
along with bits of fake tree needles, I'm also finding
DMC wrappers all over the house. Yippy Skippy!!


I read the second and third books in the Grace Valley
trilogy by Robyn Carr this week. These are the ones
that I read both on my way home from work, and at
home as well. That's when I know a story has really
caught my attention, when I take time from stitching
and computering (?) to read.

Book two continues the secret relationship between
town Doctor June Hudson and DEA agent Jim Post,
albeit a long distance relationship. But complications
arise in the form of June's high school sweetheart who
dumped her after she left for university and eloped
with her arch rival. Chris Forrest has returned to
Grace Valley with his fourteen year old twin boys,
divorced and ready to start a new life. And that
includes taking up with June where they'd left off
in high school.

Meanwhile a snooping bird watcher from out of
town has discovered old bones under the rhodod-
endron in the yard of June's eccentric old Aunt Myrna,
who's husband Morton happens to have been misplaced
twenty years earlier. Aunt Myrna is a successful author
who writes murder mysteries. Very successful and grisly
tales about wronged wives who find colourful and imaginative
ways to do away with their philandering husbands. Did
Aunt Myrna do away with her dull traveling salesman
husband all those years ago??? Or did he just stop coming
around and set up housekeeping with another woman???


Book three continues the story of June, Jim and all the
colourful folks who make Grace Valley their home. A
satisfying conclusion to the trilogy and another fun and
engrossing read. There is another trilogy that also takes
place in Grace Valley, and I have those ready to go, but I
think I'll take a break and read something different on my
way home from work this week. I'll see what jumps into
my hands when I go down to my library tomorrow
morning before leaving for work.


In the interst of keeping things equal around here I thought
that I'd finish this post with a picture of sweet Phoebe, who
never, ever knocks over garbage cans. But she's a quick study
and often picks up Ruperts bad habits. Oh Joy!!

Have a great week everyone and happy stitching!!! Cheers!