Hello. The wayward blogger has returned. It's been a
month since my last post but I do assure you that I have
been using that time wisely and well and have a huge
surprise (or two) for all of you.

I can't remember the last time that I had a finish of
any consequence to share with all of you. And I have
to admit that it's kind of discouraging not to have a
happy dance or two every few months to celebrate
the completion of a project that's been the focus of
my limited stitching time for weeks or months (or
longer ... Gulp!).

I've been exchanging emails with Maggie in the
past few weeks and she mentioned a couple of
projects that she hoped to begin stitching in the
not too distant future. I remarked that I had
one of those charts on my to-do list as well and
she came back with the idea of the two of us
doing a SAL together for this project.

I've never participated in a SAL before and was
quite intrigued by the idea. And a bit hesitant
as well. You see I've got two projects on the go
right now, plus I've had a couple of more that
have been ... well .... lets just say they'd been
temporarily put aside when something else
shiny and new came along and distracted me.

I was reluctant to begin a new project, and a
BIG one at that, with those others still unfinished.
So I got to thinking (as I sometimes do) and
decided that perhaps it was time to pick up a
couple of those lost and forlorn projects and
just get 'em done already!!!

Ahem!

So I did.

Remember Prairie Schooler's Winter??? Everything was
completed on this one except for that darn header at the
top. Lots of brown. I'm not a brown person. I left this
project propped up against the wall at the side of my work
desk and tried to ignore it. It's been there since last
summer, emitting accusatory guilt vibes whenever I sit
here. I finally picked it up a few weeks ago and gave it a
couple of hours of effort.

And voila!! It's done. No more brown stitching. No more
guilty vibes. It looks pretty good and it's DONE!!!

I love the alphabet section at the bottom of the design.
The thread colours look so pretty against the white
background.

At this point I was feeling pumped and decided to
keep the momentum going by picking up another
long abandoned project and finishing it off as well.

May I present Waxing Moon Designs Halloween Short
Stack. This pretty piece has been sitting in my craft
cupboard for two years!! Don't ask me why I've
never finished it until now. I don't really know why.
It was a fun project start to ... belated ... finish and I
love it so much.

Artistic shot.

Faced with the prospect of having to make a couple of
those dreaded french knots (Ugh! Yick!! Phewy!!!)
I remembered some sage advice received from Dani a
couple of years ago and made Colonial Knots instead.
I'm quite proud of the results and just had to show
them off to you with this close up photo of the little
mouse.

So, two finishes in one month ... two projects to
remove from my "in progress" list and two
deterrents to my participating in my first SAL
that are no longer there. So Maggie and I are
going to be starting our SAL at the beginning
of April and I'm so excited!

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

So, hands up all of you nice people out there in blogland who
are fed up to the back teeth with Winter. There's snow on the
ground and the wind feels like it took a detour through the
wastelands of Siberia before visiting your neighbourhood
and there's nary a Robin or a crocus or a pussy willow in
sight to offer encouragement and hope.

Well, I can't do anything about making Winter go away
any faster (or slower, as the case may be) then it already
is (or isn't, as the case may be). But I can offer a bit of
Spring like visual therapy to help clear your mind and
perhaps go a little ways to restoring your faith in the
eventual return of Spring.

My friend Elaine, her daughter Katherine and I took a
stroll through the Allan Gardens conservatory during
a cold Winters day a few weeks ago and of course I had
my trusty camera with me to record the event for
posterity ... and my blog. So here are a few of those
photos for you to ... hopefully ... enjoy.

Just follow the pathways that curve and wind their
way through the conservatory and take in the sights
and the scents of all the beautiful plants growing
there.

There's even a bit of desert landscaping to admire
with cacti of every shape and size and texture to
gaze at and admire.

And admire the Spring bulbs that are in full bloom
right this very minute. Crocus, daffodils, tulips and
Hyacinth in every colour imaginable.

Now see how that nasty Winter seems to just disappear
from your memory as you take in all the bounteous
beauty that is Spring.

Deep breaths ... in and out ... that's good. Now hold
those thoughts of Spring in your mind as you go
through your day .... and whatever you do don't
look out the window!!!

Thought you might enjoy seeing what the cat's got
for Christmas this year from their favourite Aunt.
A water fountain. Yes, the cats now have their
very own drinking fountain to enjoy. No more
letting Phoebe into the bathroom whenever she
orders me to and turning on the tap in the bathtub
only enough to allow a few dribbles of water to fall
at a time.

She loves this thing!! She doesn't bother drinking out
of the bowl but instead goes right to the stream of
water falling from the spout and laps from that. And
when she's not drinking the water she's batting at the
stream with her paw showering the floor and the wall
with water. Oh joy! We've even seen Rupert take a
few sips from this which is the first time I've ever
seen him drinking! Honest.

This little contraption sits in the kitchen next to the
table which is a bit of a problem for us since the
sound of the constantly running water kind of
makes us want to ... er ... well ... you know.
Skip to the loo, so to speak.

I'm in the final quarter reading of Diana Gabaldon's
most recent addition to the Outlander series and as
always am enjoying it immensely!! I do love
me a nice big and juicy book to loose myself in.

I've browsed through all the postings for the
new stuff released from Nashville last week,
as have all of you I know, and have found
just a couple of must haves and one really,
really must have.

Aury TM Designs: A Sampler for My Mother

Ink Circles: Just Rosey - this is the really
really must have.

La D Da: Flowery Alphabet

Lizzie Kate: all three designs are lovely

And that's it from me for now. Thanks for
visiting. Hope to have more stitching type
news for you soon. Take care.

Cheers!