Sunday, September 27, 2009

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!

11 comments:

imnverted said...

I have to agree with Rupert. We recently replaced our extremely old bed for one of the new fangled pillow-top ones and o m gosh are they just wonderful! Sucker will pull me in to dreamland faster than I can roll over and get comfy. No more stitching in bed for me. :)

Love the pictures of your fall decorations. Looks like Rupert has a big smile in the group photo :o)

mainely stitching said...

Everything is so lovely, Judy! And congratulations on your new mattress. We splurged on ours 7 or 8 years ago when we moved to this house, and we were also rather dizzied by the choice available. We settled on a zone mattress, as I prefer something a little softer and Niek likes something a littler firmer. LOL. Your fall decorating looks great. Out of season as always, I'm doing autumn cleaning rather than spring cleaning. LOL!

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

:) A lovely newsy post...I love your kitties, we adopted a orange tabby in June...he's about 6 mos. old now, and the Doctor believe that he has Maine Coon in him...I believe it too, as I was the one to ask... :) He's a darling as is your Rupert, I'm sure ;)
Thank you for the book recommendation...I love all the books you recommend! I've not read any of this author's so I shall have a looksie here when I'm done. Good luck at curves! And also I want you to know that last Monday upon reading your post, it finally pushed me off the edge and I joined WW that night. Today I have my first weigh in and I'm so hopeful that I've lost weight. I've been drinking my water and staying in my points...not to mention continuing with my exercise. I needed a push and Dani had me thinking, and some other ladies had me on the edge, then you pushed me off...THANK YOU!

Kathy A. said...

What a lovely newsy post Judy. It is so nice to have you back. I love your pink cats. You are going great guns. I can see why you would want the Library!!
Thanks for your recommendation on Jacqueline Carey's new book. I added it to my list!!!
Have a great week girl and stay in touch.

staci said...

It's definitely autumn here too...although we had quite a warm up over the weekend! Enjoy your fall decorations :)

And I think that new LHN pattern was made with you in mind! You certainly need that one!!!

Siobhán said...

Your kitties are adorable! I will take Rupert's testimony that your new mattress is nice and comfy. :) We splurged on a new set when we moved to Ireland and it is NICE. We still talk about how nice it is to wake up in that bed! Love your stitching, and the autumnal decorations!

Lynn said...

I love this time of year too. Today has been our first day of rain in weeks. Temps are dropping now!
At the cottage we rent,they replaced their mattress this year with one of the higher ones. Being 5'2" I definitely had a hard time getting on the bed. My DH laughed at me each time I hopped on.
I love your kitty freebie! I have this one in my stash and will get to it someday.

Pumpkin said...

That is so sweet that you're stitching that piece for Phoebe :o) I'm sure she'll appreciate it. I stitched a piece that included both Brie and Duncan.

A new bed! Don't you just love how comfy they are now. Rupert sure does. LOL! I love that picture!

I am loving this time of year too. All the fall decorations are coming out and it's hard not to buy when I go into the stores. I love my two new pumpkins though :o)

Beatrice said...

Ohhhh I wondered where those kitties were. Nice job!!
It was good to read your post ...as always nice and newsy. You managed nicely with Phoebe on your lap and ARM...lol
Take care.

samplerlover said...

Hi Judy,
Just a quick post to say welcome back. I have missed chatting to you. Sounds as if you have had a busy time while you were away.
Anyway, it is time for me to go to bed. Just thought I'd check to see if you were back. Talk to you soon, = Sandra.

Gina E. said...

I love reading your blog Judy! You can be such a hoot with your descriptions and photos of Rupert and Phoebe! "The Library" would be a bit much for me to take on, but I'd love to do the cats. Not in pink though - sorry!