Greetings everyone!   I've been sitting around here for

the past week since my last post waiting for something 

exciting to happen around here so that I might have 

something interesting to blog about ... but so far ...

nothing!!!  Nadda!!   Zilch!!   

So I went through my picture files to find something

pretty to feature at the beginning of my post and I

came across this lovely little lady.  I'd found her 

during one of my walks last summer, perched on 

her rock in someone's front garden and she was 

nice enough to pose for me while I took her 

picture ... and her little dog too!!

Ok, that takes care of my intro.  Now what??  

Well, how about another chapter of Wildlife in

Georgetown???   Specifically this tiny fellow

hiding in our garden underneath the flowering

dog wood bushes.   DH spotted him in the

yard from an upstairs window and I immediately

grabbed my camera and rushed out to take a 

picture.

Bunny was camera shy and as soon as he 

heard me clomping down the stairs of the

deck he ducked into the bushes and froze.

I went in after him ... well, kind of.

Didn't want to scare him any more then

he already was so I just knelt outside of

the bushes and put my hand holding the

camera in for a few quick pictures.  

I have no idea how one goes about judging

a rabbits age but this guy was pretty darn

small ... and stinkin' cute to boot.  Didn't

see any other bunnies around so he must 

be old enough to be on his own.   Hope so

anyways. 

 A sure sign that summer is here is the opening of

the local Farmer's Market.   Everything from 

locally grown produce to incredible baked 

goods and hand made crafts plus booths 

selling real maple syrup, soap, cheese, pottery

and kittens (!). 

Okay, the kittens were in the window of

the pet supply store Creature Comforts and

were from Cats Anonymous, a no kill shelter

but still ... there were kittens!  

Whenever I go out for my 10k walk on Saturday 

mornings while the market is running I 

always stop there on my way back home for

whatever tickles my fancy ... or for a treat

for DH to have with his morning tea.

Since last February we've been in renovation 

mode here in our humble little home.   It had

been many, many moons since we'd last done

any decorating or updating of the main floor

of our house,  and most of our furniture was

at least 25 years old and/or hand-me-downs.

We've been in this house for 20 years and 

my taste has changed in those years ... quite

a bit.   We've been dithering around for the 

past few years about doing some reno work

for this area and this year turned out to be the

year.   Finally!!!

Above is the living room as it was.  Ignore

the floor stand in the middle of the picture

please.    Flipping through my iPhotos this

was the best "before" picture of that section

of the living room that I could find.

And after ... everything new (or in the case of the

pictures on the walls ... reframed to suit the decor).

More pictures to come in future posts.  

P.S.  the picture over the couch is of my 

grandmother.  It was made in Belgium and is

 done in pastels.   My grandfather had it drawn 

from a picture that he had with him of my 

grandmother while he served there during 

the first world war.   A week after he picked

 up the finished picture the shop was bombed 

out!!

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

Let's see ... what else to write about??

DH was kind enough to take me to 

Michaels on Saturday to let me do a 

bit of shopping.  I had a gift certificate

from my birthday that I wanted to use.

I didn't buy any stitching supplies though.

Instead I bought stuff for my journaling

and paper crafting hobby ... my other

obsession.   

I gathered up a jumble of paints,

papers, embellishments, glue gun,

ink pad etc, etc.  while DH patiently

sat on a bench out side the store and

waited for me.  

My free time these days is split 

(not often evenly) between stitching

and scraping.  I've been making

Junk Journals / Junque Journals /

Scrapbooks / Smash books out of

all kinds of things.  And having a

blast doing it.

This was an existing book with lined

pages that I stuck fancy papers and

cards and stuff into.  I used glitter,

stickers and gems on the cover

which already had the flowers on it.

The pages fanned out (actually the book

won't close flat ... it stands by itself like

this all the time) so you can kind of

see inside.  It's very three dimensional

which I love!

A few of the pages.  I've put everything from

photos to movie tickets to magazine clippings

and all kinds of other stuff inside these books.  

Sometimes I put cards in whole, sometimes I 

just use pieces of the cards.  We've got lots of

cards for all kinds of occasions that we've

received over the years that have been 

sitting in boxes neglected and, well, 

forgotten.  So I decided to use them in my

paper crafting ... sort of recycling them.

Another page spread.  The book mark is a

treasure that I received from Barbara (Mainely 

Stitching).  The note that she sent with it is on

the next page over.

This is a page spread from a much larger scrap

book that I'm working on now.  My godson

Ian played Richard the Lion Heart in this

production last winter.  I stole the poster

on the left from my Curves workout centre

when the production was over.  Sshhhhh.

Don't tell!

I've got a huge .... no make that HUGE

.... bin full of all kinds of stuff that I've 

saved over the years and I'm now working

to put as much of it as I can into these 

large and small journals/scrapbooks. 

Long way to go ... but I'm having so 

much fun doing it.   I love making a 

mess in my craft room!!

And will you look at that!  I full blog post

after all.  Not bad for someone who had

little or nothing to say, eh?

Thanks for dropping by.  

Cheers!

P.S.   evidently Blogger made some

changes to their site and the way that

posts are created during the year

that I was away.   I don't like it!!

Now I've got to try and figure things

out again!!    

Once again ....

I'm always excited to have the opportunity to snap a few pictures

of the cardinals that hang around our neighbourhood.  They are

one of my most favourite of birds.  The males are quite vain and  

like to perch themselves somewhere conspicuous such as 

the top of a tree or a telephone pole or a TV antenna where

they proceed to sing their distinctive song to announce their

presence.   Fortunately Mrs Cardinal is usually somewhere

close by to keep an eye on her flamboyant mate and keep

him in line.

This guy was in our birch tree and was gracious enough

to stay there long enough for me to take a few pictures.

I took a picture of my currant stitching project

this evening so you can see where it stands

at the moment.   I am working on the square

in the upper right corner and have chosen to

stitch the butterfly ... after much dithering and

mind changing.

The blue bird on a pedestal had to be frogged

and restitched when I discovered that I'd 

stitched it in the wrong spot by one square.

I was tempted to leave it but it was causing

a chain reaction train wreck with the rest of

the design that would have been too 

noticeable ... and it would have bugged me

... so out it came!!

I've been sitting out in front of the house 

the past few nights stitching.  The 

portable magnifying glass (the kind that

loops around your neck) doesn't work

so well for me any longer so I just 

held my stitching frame up to my nose,

peered over my glasses and stitched ...

all whilst trying not to jab a needle 

into my nose!!!

  

Some recent book finishes to share with you ...

beginning with the first book in the Lady 

Emily series by Tasha Alexander.  

  The story: 

From gifted new writer Tasha Alexander comes a 

stunning novel of historical suspense set in Victorian 

England, meticulously researched and with a twisty 

plot that involves  stolen antiquities, betrayal, and 

murder. For Emily, accepting the proposal  of 

Philip, the Viscount Ashton, was an easy way to 

escape her overbearing mother, who was set on a 

grand society match. So when Emily's dashing 

husband died on safari soon after their wedding, 

she felt little grief. After all, she barely knew him.

Now, nearly two years later, she discovers that 

Philip was a far different man from the one 

she had married so cavalierly.  His journals reveal 

him to have been a gentleman scholar and antiquities 

collector who, to her surprise, was deeply in love with 

his wife. Emily becomes fascinated with this new 

image of her dead husband and she immerses 

herself in all things ancient and begins to study 

Greek. Emily's intellectual pursuits and her desire 

to learn more about Philip take her to the quiet 

corridors of the British Museum, one of her husband's 

favorite places. There, amid priceless ancient statues, 

she uncovers a dark, dangerous secret involving stolen 

artifacts from the Greco-Roman galleries. And to 

complicate matters, she's juggling two very prominent 

and wealthy suitors, one of whose intentions may go 

beyond the marrying kind. As she sets out to solve 

the crime, her search leads to more surprises about 

Philip and causes her to question the role in Victorian 

society to which she, as a woman, is relegated.

I love mysteries but don't care for the kind that

goes into gory, creepy detail.   And I love when

the mystery takes place in  time periods other

then  modern day.   Hence my love for authors

such as Tasha Alexander, Charles Todd and

Jacqueline Winspear.   I have the first four 

books in this series on my bookshelf and as

soon as I finished this one I picked up the

second book to read.  

Lady Emily is a wonderful character who

really begins to enjoy the freedom that

being a widow allows her in the restrictive

society of Victorian England.   It's quite

an eye opener to read about the confined,

suffocating lives genteel women were

relegated to during that time when 

England was ruled by a formidable 

woman.  A paradox indeed.

Adding at the last minute:  finished book

two and now into book three!!   Book two

(A Poisoned Season) was even better then 

the first.

Ellen Airgood and her husband own and run a diner in a small

Michigan town south of Superior.   Sounds like the beginning of

a book doesn't it??   But it's true.   The author and her DH run a

diner by day and whenever she has some spare time between 

shifts Ellen writes.   South of Superior is her first book and I quite

enjoyed it.   Saw it in the book section of our grocery store as I

was browsing through their tables of new releases and liked the

synopsis of the story on the cover ... so I bought it.

The story: 

When Madeline Stone walks away from Chicago 

and moves five hundred miles north to the

 coast of Lake Superior, in Michigan's Upper 

Peninsula, she isn't prepared for how much her 

life will change.

Charged with caring for an aging family friend, 

Madeline finds herself in the middle of beautiful 

nowhere with Gladys and Arbutus, two 

octogenarian sisters-one sharp and stubborn, 

the other sweeter  than sunshine. As Madeline 

begins to experience the ways of the small, 

tight-knit town, she is drawn into the lives and 

dramas of its residents.  

It's a place where times are tough and debts run 

deep, but friendship, community, and compassion 

run deeper. As the story hurtles along-

featuring a lost child, a dashed love, a car accident,

 a wedding, a fire, and a romantic reunion-Gladys, 

Arbutus,  and the rest of the town teach Madeline more 

about life, love, and goodwill than she's learned 

in a lifetime.

Had no trouble getting caught up in the story and 

read this book  pretty quickly.   I enjoy books with quirky 

characters and characters who are finding their way, their 

niche in the world and someone to share their lives with.   

This book has all of that in abundance.   I hope that 

there will be a sequel because I would like to hang out 

with these characters again and find out how things work 

out for them in the future.

Thanks to Goodreads for the above two book descriptions.

We get strange birds around here!!!

Phil couldn't figure out why one of our bird 

feeders was running out of bird seed so 

quickly these past few weeks.  It's one of

those feeders whose perch will only allow

the smaller birds to feed.  If a larger bird

lands on the perch it's weight pushes

the perch down and causes the holes where

the seed is to close.   Well, that's the

theory anyways.

Last weekend I happened to be looking

out the back door when I saw Chippy

literally running up the pole to the 

feeder and helping himself to the

contents, stuffing his cheeks with seed

before scurrying back down the pole

and heading off to home with his

ill gotten booty.   

Cheeky little devil!!!  It would appear

that Chippy's weight is slight enough

that it doesn't cause the perch to 

sag down and close the feeding holes.

Phil's going to try and adjust the 

thing (again) to try and fix this.

Spent much of Sunday working on a

new Smash journal ... my craft room

looked like a Michael's exploded in

it.   I'm a messy crafter.  Anybody

else out there do Smash journaling??

Have a great week and thanks for

visiting!!

The Wildlife and Flora of Georgetown ... and Stitching!!!

I have been delighted and thrilled with the warm welcome that I've 

received from all of you since my post at the beginning of the week.

Thank you so much for your understanding and your encouragement.

It's good to be back!!!

So I thought that I'd just throw a short blog post together, sort of to

get myself back in the swing of things and to get my brain working

in blogging mode again.   Must remember to start looking for 

photo ops and for events to blog about in the future.   I still have

to take pictures of my current stitching projects to share with you

plus there's the little matter of our renovations that are almost ...

very nearly ... done!    Pictures to come once things are settled

and sorted.

We've had the flowers for our collections of pots for the backyard

for a couple of weeks and I've managed to plant up quite a few of

them but theres still lots to be done.   I hope to get at them this

weekend some time but tomorrow's weather looks iffy and I've 

got several things that need doing (hair appointment for one) so

I'll probably have to do it on Sunday.   Meanwhile, here is a 

photo of some of our flowers patiently waiting for their turn to

be potted.

At 6:10 am last Saturday morning I woke up to the sound of 

a sort of trilling noise coming through the bedroom window.

I had an idea of what it was so got up to take a look.

In the neighbour's back yard were a Momma Racoon and her 

three sweet little babies.    I grabbed my camera and managed

to snap a few pictures although the quality isn't that great.  I

tend to get flustered at times like this.   

Momma checking Jr over and giving him a bit of a grooming.

Look at that face!!   I know ... raccoons are

pests and can cause a lot of damage in attics

where they try to set up housekeeping.  Who 

knows where this clan are nesting during the

day time.  But darn it ... they're adorable.

I took this picture during one of my early Saturday morning

walks.   Chippy posing on a bench in someone's yard.  We

have quite a few chipmunks in our own yard and they're 

great fun to watch.  They cram their faces with bird seed 

spilled from our feeders and scurry off to take it home to

the wife and kids.   But if we leave the shed door open they

skip the bird feeders and head directly for the source ....

stealing peanuts and seeds from the bags they're stored in

in the shed.   Cheeky little beggars!!    Oh well, I can't

help myself .... I'm a sucker for a furry face!

Another blossom from the garden.  I tried to stay with

pinks, mauves and white for our pots this year but I 

couldn't resist a few Lantana plants because I really

love them.   So a bit of yellowy gold in amongst the

pastels.

Well look at this.  It appears that I did have a 

picture of one of my current stitching 

projects after all.   I've done more since

this picture was taken but at least you can

see that I am still stitching a bit.

Thanks for dropping by.  Have a great

weekend!!

Cheers!

The prodigal returns.

Hello.

It's been a long time.    I know, that's understating the obvious but it
has been a full year (and then some) since my last post.   What
happened???    I don't know.

May, one year ago, I suddenly lost my blogging and my stitching
mojo.  I think the first anniversaries of my Mother's final illness
and her passing may have had something to do with it.   I lost my
joy in both of my once passionate hobbies and really didn't want to
do much of anything.   Apathy is a terrible feeling and such a waste
of life.

After awhile those feelings faded but by then I'd been gone a long
time (it seemed to me) and I felt terrible about that and so guilty for
just up and disappearing.  I didn't know how to return, couldn't think
what to say, and so I just let the time keep passing.  I started stitching
a bit but it wasn't the same without my friends to share it with.   And
so it went.   More time passed.    A new year came and I thought
perhaps that might give me the incentive (and the nerve) to make that
first blog post.  New Years resolution and all that.    Well obviously
that didn't happen.   I dithered on.

So what's made me suddenly sit down here at the computer and
start typing??  I guess I got pissed off enough at myself and gave
myself  a bit of a shake and a stern talking to and decided to put
my fingers on the computer keys and let the thoughts role out.

I've missed you!   Yes, YOU!    I've missed keeping an eye out
for pictures for my blog,  picking books to rave about with you,
showing off my latest stitching project (such as it is) and looking
eagerly for any comments you may have left for me.

So here I am.   I'm hoping you'll still be out there and willing to
come back to visit here.  You have my permission to kick me or
yell at me or whatever you like because I feel that I deserve it.

But if you do take the time to come here and read this post and
come back again and again and forgive me for being such an
apathetic twit I'd be so grateful and thrilled.

Thanks for visiting and for reading this post.  

Judy