The Bookshelf is coming along, in spite of myself. I had a mild case of

the frogs the other day, which set me back a wee bit. I was working on the

middle section with the author's names and realized that the top row of
names was several lines higher then the books on either side of that area.
Hmmm. Some checking soon revealed that I'd stitched the book spines too
short. So I had to pick out the blackish and the gold (ouch!!) threads down
to where I'd made the error, and work back from there. The repair has
been done, as can be seen in the above picture, and now I can continue
my stitching.
It seems most stitching bloggers always have at least a couple of projects
on the go at the same time. Some of them even have a different project for
each day of the week. Good grief!! Well, I was feeling a bit restless with
the muted colours of The Bookshelf, and felt in need of a break. I've been
itching to start one of the Little House Needlework's/Crescent Colours
packs, and Peaches is the one that I wanted most to start. So I did. My
first foray into hand dyed threads. Mmmmmmm. Pretty. I'm very
happy with this one


I ordered some books for a friend the other day, and added a few extra
from my wish list to round out the package. I ordered the latest Anne
Bishop, in the Ephemera series, which is called Belladonna. I also ordered
the first book in her Black Jewels trilogy. I blame Kerry for these two,
and for all the other Anne Bishop books that I'm going to have to get.

The third book that I ordered had just come out that week. Jacqueline
Carey's Kushiel's Justice. Oh, I love Jacqueline Carey's books!! This is
the finest, most exquisitely written, richly detailed series going. I can't
put them down when I'm reading them, and I'm devastated when I
finish them and face having to wait a year for the next. I am seriously
smitten by Imriel de la Courcel, the hero of this series. I can't
recommend these books enough.

I had a surprise package in the mail a week ago too. Back in January (!!)
I'd placed an order with The Cross Stitch Cupboard in Ottawa. I did
eventually received most of the items in my order, except for three Needles
Necessities threads which were on back order. I eventually forgot about
these, until they arrived, almost five months after I'd ordered them. Now

if only I could remember what project I was ordering them for....

It's the Canada Day (July 1st) long weekend here and it looks as though
it's going to be a beauty. Sunshine and temperatures in the mid 70's. Just
perfect weather for sitting on the deck and cross stitching. And barbecuing
too. Beef kabobs tonight, chicken breasts tomorrow, and probably ham
burgers on Monday. Perfect. Most of our neighbours appear to have gone
away for the holidays so it's very quiet and peaceful around here.

Nothing like a cup of tea and a good read. DH and Rupert enjoying their
leisure this morning at the kitchen table.

Karen asked me what the book Elantris was about. Quoting from the
blurb on Indigo book seller's sight:

"Elantris was the capital of Arelon: gigantic, beautiful, literally radiant, filled
with benevolent beings who used their powerful magical abilities for the
benefit of all. Yet each of these demigods was once an ordinary person until
touched by the mysterious transforming power of the Shaod. Ten years ago,
without warning, the magic failed. Elantrians became wizened, leper-like,
powerless creatures, and Elantris itself dark, filthy, and crumbling. Arelon''s
new capital, Kae, crouches in the shadow of Elantris. Princess Sarene of
Teod arrives for a marriage of state with Crown Prince Raoden, hoping --
based on their correspondence -- to also find love. She finds instead that
Raoden has died and she is considered his widow. Both Teod and Arelon
are under threat as the last remaining holdouts against the imperial
ambitions of the ruthless religious fanatics of Fjordell. So Sarene decides
to use her new status to counter the machinations of Hrathen, a Fjordell
high priest who has come to Kae to convert Arelon and claim it for his
emperor and his god. But neither Sarene nor Hrathen suspect the truth
about Prince Raoden. Stricken by the same curse that ruined Elantris,
Raoden was secretly exiled by his father to the dark city. His struggle
to help the wretches trapped there begins a series of events that will
bring hope to Arelon, and perhaps reveal the secret of Elantris itself.
A rare epic fantasy that doesn''t recycle the classics and that is a
complete and satisfying story in one volume, Elantrisis fleet and fun,
full of surprises and characters to care about. It''s also the
wonderful debut of a welcome new star in the constellation of fantasy."

Hope you can find this book where you live Karen. It's a wonderful read.

A weeks progress on "The Bookshelf". It moves along fairly easily, with
just a few scattered stitches that require careful planning to make sure
that the threads don't show through the linen and spoil the effect. I find
it interesting how the designer has chosen to use somewhat plain, muted
colours, with just a touch of a brighter red thread used here and there.
The gold thread, which will be used mostly on the bindings of the books
stitched at the top of this piece, will add a subtle glint and remind us that
these books are as precious as fine gold.

I started reading "Elantris" by Brandon Sanderson this week and it's
fantastic. Kerry, you mentioned having this in your "to be read"
stack. You will love this story!! A wonderfully well written fantasy,
with a story told from the view point of three characters, in
alternating chapters. I thought this might be the first of a trilogy
but it now appears that it's a stand alone story. The author does
currently have two books out that are part of a trilogy but I don't
think those books have any connection to this one.

Shannon, I've always tried to read books in order of publication.
Even Kathy Reich's books, which I don't consider to be as heavily
into the main character's relationships as other writer's (such as
Elizabeth George) can be. Or at least her books aren't as detailed.
Still, reading a series in order you get to know the main character
in much the same way as you would a real person. Hope you enjoy
the books as much as I've done.

Work is still crazy busy, and that along with the long, sun filled
days allowing for evening time spent working in the garden and
just sitting outside on the deck, means less computer time. I'm
behind on reading and commenting on blogs. Life's just too busy.

Our local library had their yearly book sale today, and the
farmer's market opened as well. Since both events were in the
same area of Georgetown we attended both. Picked up a pile of
lovely books at the sale, including a beautiful National Geographic
book on China, and a couple of hard cover novels in excellent
condition. I also picked up two cross stitch books. One is of
Kate Greenaway's illustrations translated to cross stitch. The
other is a sampler motif book by Brenda Keyes.

At the market we picked up some lovely strawberries to enjoy
for desert tonight, and some meat from the local butcher for
the barbecue, assuming the weather holds. It's gotten quite
overcast this afternoon.

The decision was made. The fabric was selected. The threads were
gathered. The stitching began. Introducing my next obsession...er...project.
Little House Needlework's "The Bookshelf". Combining my two main
obsessions, books and cross stitch. I'm using the recommended 28 count
light mocha linen, and the recommended threads, all DMC. This is about a
week and a half's work, with not a great deal getting done this week thanks
to work.

Work is why I've not been updating my blog as much as I would have liked.
First of the month is crazy at the best of times, but throw in being short
staffed due to holidays and illness, a new section of work being given to our
department to process, and one body to do it instead of the two bodies it
took in the department where it use to be done, and you've got chaos!
Many late nights meant coming home, eating dinner (a sandwich, glass of
milk and cookies) and going to bed. I've not even been on my computer
three nights out of five. Shocking!!! When I have been on line, I've been
reading blogs and using the images of other peoples stitching to sooth my
frazzled nerves, and to relax me. Although the sight of Becky's stitching
room certainly got my adrenaline pumping. Couldn't you just spend
several hours (days) in there gazing and drooling and sighing???

As of last weekend I finished planting all the pots for this summer, and I'm
quite pleased with the results. As usual I just bought stuff that appealed to
me at the garden centres, without bothering to concern myself with a colour
scheme, or theme or whatever. I like to mix the texture and style of the
leaves for contrast, and of course I have my favourites which I buy every
year. Things like variegated leaf Geraniums, Heliotrope, Lantana, carnation
and marigold. And the double petal Petunia's in various colours are really
lovely this year.

The rabbit hasn't been around lately (at least I haven't seen him/them) but
the poor plants in my garden are being trampled by territorial squirrels
chasing each other through the undergrowth without care or regard for my
delicate little plants. Meanwhile, the chipmunks have began showing up at
the back door, looking for handouts, much to the frustration of the cats. It's
a good thing that we have a sturdy back door.


I have gotten a good bit of reading done this week, during breaks
and on my way home from work. I started "Sebastian" on Monday
and finished it on Thursday. It was wonderful. My first Anne
Bishop book, and I loved it, and especially the character of
Sebastian. The author has a great sense of humour too, which is
always important to me. This is a fantasy novel, and will probably
be the first of a trilogy. I'm going to have to start collecting all of
her books now.
On Friday I began the Kathy Reichs book "Break No Bones" and I
finished it on Saturday. I've been collecting and reading Ms Reich's
books from the very beginning and I enjoy her very much. Again,
she has that dry sense of humour that I love, and I'm fascinated by
the descriptions of the forensic work featured in each books. These
are quick reads, although I will go back and reread some of the more
technical parts to make sure that I'm clear on what's happening.

DH spent yesterday working in the garden, digging, trimming,
tying things up, and cleaning up from the heavy rainstorm that
passed through Southern Ontario on Friday afternoon. No major
damage in our yard, although there were some large tree limbs down
in the area. Of course I left work Friday afternoon in the midst of
the storm, and just a five minute walk to my bus stop left me
soaking wet from the hips down (I had my umbrella keeping my
head and shoulders dry). Thank goodness I'd left my x-stitching home
that day because I knew the bad weather was coming, and I wasn't
going to have much stitching time that day at work anyways.

And finally, as always, a cat picture. Rupert helping to make the bed last
Sunday. He loves to get wrapped up in the sheets, and then tickled.

Cheers everyone. Thanks for dropping by.

Drawn Thread ~ 12 Houses Sampler

After just over two weeks of work, this project is complete. Not only a lovely
design to stitch, but also a good learning experience for me. I made my first
attempts at working a half dozen specialty stitches, as required in the
pattern, with varying degrees of success.

The stitch that I loved the most was the Diagonal Satin Stitch, which was
used for the roof on the house third down on the right hand side. A very
pretty effect. The hardest stitch for me was the Chain Stitch, which was
used on the weeping willow, also on the right hand side of the project. I
made multiple (we won't bother going into just how many) attempts to get
this one right, and even gave up one evening and left it before I got too
frustrated and pitched the whole thing into the neighbour's pool. The next
morning a cooler head and a refreshed outlook allowed me to finally get the
knack of it.

There are several changes on this project which make it uniquely my own.
Some of those changes were intentional, and some were not. The second
house down on the right hand side (my favourite side of the project, it
seems) is almost entirely my own design. It was suppose to have walls in
alternating colours of dark brown, and very pale grey/brown, stitched in
satin stitch. Let's just say that the results after several miscounts, and
forgetting to allow spaces for the windows (once) and the door (twice!!)
were not to my taste at all. I liked the satin stitch roof on another house,
but not the walls on this house. So I picked it all out, and decided to work
on the roof for a break instead. Thought the roof was to be stitched in a
lovely shade of blue. Stitched it that way, and then discovered it was
meant to be dark grey/brown! Nuts! I left it. I liked it the way it was.
But of course then it didn't match the colours of the rest of the house. So
I had to change those. And I just cross stitched that part. It turned out
okay. Over all, I'm pleased with the final results. And now have to
choose my next project. Hmmm. Now what will it be??

I did some book splurging last week as well. Four brand new books to add
to my library. I'd read a lot about Anne Bishop on Kerry's blog and she
was so enthusiastic about the author's writing that I just had to try one.
I've been collecting Phillipa Gregory's books for years and I think this one
is her latest. The Kathy Reichs book I've had on my wish list ever since it
came out because I love her books. But they keep going on sale after I buy
them at full price, which drives me crazy. So I tried to tough it out when
she released this one last spring. So far, no sale. I couldn't wait any longer.
The book by Brandon Sanderson was on sale really cheap, and I loved the
description of the story. It's fantasy, and is book one in a series. I'm very
happy with this little haul, and consider it to be a birthday present to
myself. They were even delivered on my birthday.


Wildlife in my garden. I think that we have several bunnies stopping by
for lunch in our garden, and under our bird feeders this year. This little
guy allowed me quite close to snap a few pictures. Isn't he sweet? And
in the top picture, just behind the pole, on top of the rock, you might just
be able to make out one of our chipmunks.
The indoor wildlife. Rupert and Phoebe. Afternoon snooze time. Mostly
they really do get along. As long as Rupert is allowed to choose the nap
spot of the day, and gets to settle in there first.

Darlene was here for another movie weekend and we did a double header.
Pirates of the Caribbean and Shrek the Third. In one afternoon.
We both loved Pirates. It was great fun, and Johnny Depp was fantastic,
as always. I'll be adding this one to my DVD collection for sure. When it
came to Shrek however, Darlene and I disagreed. She thought it was a
pretty good movie. I thought it was dull, and not terribly funny at all.
I think that Eddie Murphy's donkey is beginning to get on my nerves.
Still love Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots.

Saturday was one of those gorgeous Spring days that just seem to be a gift
from the gods. Warm, but not hot, and sunny with bright blue skies. I
settled on the back deck as you can see in the above picture, and I stitched
the afternoon away. Pure bliss! Wish some fellow bloggers could have
dropped by to join me. Linda, we could have gotten Rupert to do your hair
for you while you stitched. Lol.

And this is what I've been working on this week. I think that I began this
on Monday, so this is just under a weeks worth of work. My first Drawn
Thread design which is "12 Houses Sampler". I don't know if you can
make it out, but this is being stitched on a pale green 28 count material
that I've had for many years now. I think it's called Annabelle, and I also
have it in a rose colour.

This is my first time trying stitches different from the plain old cross
stitch. I was so worried when I began this piece that I wouldn't be able to
get the hang of stitching rice stitches, smyrna crosses, satin stitches etc.
The chart provides diagrams on how to do each of these fancy stitches and
they are clear enough, but what it doesn't tell you is how to carry on
to the second stitch, and the next, and so on. This was a wee problem with
the diagonal satin stitch. I seemed to recall from photo's on other bloggers
sites that the first square has stitches running in one direction, and then
the next square shows them going in the opposite direction, if you follow
me. And the photo on the front of the chart of the finished model is so
small you really can't make out how they've done it, even with a
magnifying glass. So I just did what I thought worked, and hoped for the
best. I'm loving this design.

DH and I are on vacation this week. I have to work on Tuesday because I
swapped that day with a co-worker so that I could have the day after the
Loreena McKennitt concert off, but that's okay. We'll be going to the
dentist, taking the cats for their yearly vet visit and shots (should be a
barrel of laughs) and taking Mom to the mall for shopping and lunch. We'll
also go to the plant nurseries around here to get plants for our pots, and
our hanging baskets. Hopefully we won't see any more frost in future
weather forcasts. It's only going to be in the low 60's today.



I took some shots of the garden yesterday, and I've posted two of them
above. The first is the shade garden in front of the deck, under our birch
tree clump. Lungwort, Primroses and Violets are all blooming in this area.
The plants in this section seem to prefer the cooler weather, and some will
even rebloom in the fall. The second photo shows the garden around our
silver maple tree. In the tree box the Hostas are putting up their leaves,
and the Lamium is just starting to bloom. In front of the tree box is a
lovely carpet of Sweet Woodruff, also just coming into bloom. The bush on
the left of the picture is a Service Berry. DH spent yesterday mowing the
lawn and using his new trimmer to trim the edges of the yard. I cross
stitch for pleasure and relaxation, DH mows the lawn. It's a guy thing.


I picked up Christie Dickason's book "The Firemaster's Mistress" when I
was in the World's Biggest Bookstore last month. It was on sale for under
five bucks, which is a great deal for a hardcover. It is a wonderful book.
The story takes place during the time of the Gunpowder Plot (Guy
Fawkes) and is an excellent, well written mixture of history, romance and
suspense. I loved this story and I'll be looking for more books to read by
this author.

Shannon, thanks for the suggestion about using the Rainbow Gallery
Petite Braid next time. I'll have to add them to my very long list of
specialty threads that I want to collect. I'm using Weeks Dye Works
threads (along with DMC) for the first time in the above sampler and
I love how the varigated colours show up. There are so many specialty
threads available, it's hard to know which ones to collect.

Well, I should go throw some laundry in the washing machine, and do some
chores so that I can then spend time stitching guilt free. Have a great
weekend everyone. Cheers!

Firstly, the latest in storage for your pet. Is your pet underfoot when not
in use? Well, we have the solution. Box-a-Pet. Comes in two styles. High
sides, and low sides. Bone extra. Cats too.

After finishing Country Shops I was ready to begin a new project and I'd
already decided to start a Drawn Thread design and I wanted to work
on that project on my Q-snaps. Trouble was my Q-snaps already had a
project on it. I began this piece at Christmas, and got the snowflakes done
and had begun the outside boarder. I thought that the project needed a
little sparkle, so I mixed a thread of Krenik metallic red with the two
threads of required colour and began to stitch. I'd never used metallic
thread before. Not fun! I worked at it doggedly, but cursing under my
breath throughout, until I couldn't take it any longer. The piece got tossed
in a bag and left with less then half of one side of the boarder left to stitch.

When I pulled it out again last week I decided that I had to finish it before

starting the next project. So I sat down and after about half of an hour of
slogging I got the blasted boarder done!! After that it was a couple of days
work on the back stitched and cross stitched inner boarder and the letters
and hey presto! Another finish. Another happy dance.

Two finishes in one week! Look out Becky. I'm going to start giving you a
run for your money if I keep this up. Lol!

We have three cherry trees lining the driveway at the front of our house
and they are each reaching their peak of blossoming perfection at their
own speed. Two of the trees are white, and the middle one is pink. The
pink one is always the last to bloom, but well worth the wait.

When you come to stay at our house for the weekend we offer many
special services to make your stay more enjoyable. One of the most
popular of these is the in-house stylist, who will wash, comb and style
your hair in any of the latest fashions. He has had many years of
experience and truly enjoys his work. Hi Darlene. :)

We've had several storm cells pass through since dinner time tonight.
Lots of heavy rain, high winds, thunder and lightening. South of us they
have gotten even worse, with hail as well. Will probably get more later
on tonight, but at the moment things are calm, the birds are singing, and
the sun has almost set.

Cha Cha Cha.....All done!

Country Shops by Cross Country Stitching. This was in one of their
magazines from around 1996, but I believe that it is now available in chart
form from them if you are interested. This time around the vine stitching
went quite smoothly and did not require any major frogging. So now I have
two of these designs to hang together someday.
Saturday was DH and my 17th wedding anniversary. So Friday night he
came home with a bouquet of carnations for me. Brave soul to venture
into a floral shop just days before the Mother's Day rush!! I was quite
delighted, although these have to be kept shut up in the computer room
so that the cats don't eat the baby's breath or the fern.

Darlene was here this weekend, as we began the official summer movie
season with Spiderman 3. We went Saturday afternoon when there were
no crowds to fight for a seat and we had lunch there before the movie
started.

Now, Spiderman is my favourite super hero. I'm not big on Superman, or
Batman, although I do like the Xmen. But I love Spiderman, and I've
always enjoyed the Spiderman trilogy, and Tobey Maguire in the title roll.
But this time I was concerned because there were to be 3 villains in this
installment of the series, and I had heard that it was too much of a good
thing. But Darlene and I agreed that it was much better then we'd been
expecting and we enjoyed it thoroughly. The story was well laid out,
and everything was explained pretty clearly, and the special effects were
fantastic. I think the second movie in this series will always be my
personal favourite, but this one is a worthy addition to the series.

Saturday evening was a barbecue at the home of a member of DH's
praise group choir. DH had been to a practice during the afternoon
because the group was singing at another church the next day and
they had to get set up at the church and get to know the layout. He
doesn't go to the movies with Darlene and I too often because at
6'5" he's all legs, and there's usually not a lot of room for them in the
movie theatres. Anyways, the barbecue was most enjoyable, with
the kids running around the yard, the adults sitting around the
table munching finger food, and enjoying themselves.
For Mother's day my SIL, my friend Darlene, DH and I went to the
wonderful brunch which is held every year at my mom's residence. Loads
of yummy food to choose from as envisioned in these pictures. Above is
the desert table, which featured Belgium waffles, with mixed fruit compote,
and vanilla yogurt and granola to sprinkle over all. Not to mention the
little desert squares, and a large bowl of fruit salad. Mmmmmmmm!!!
As you can see the main course table was full of yummy goodness too.
All presented so beautifully it was hard to dig in and ruin the look. A
mixture of cold salads of all types, to hot foods like roast beef, Mexican
style scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage and a salmon/shrimp pate.

And here we have Phoebe in the bathroom sink. This is what she does
in the mornings when I'm trying to get ready for work and she wants
some love and attention.

There is nothing like Paris in the spring time. Or so they say. And who am
I to argue with them?? So, on a perfect spring day, my SIL and our friend
Nancy and I headed out for a day of shopping and lunching in Paris. Oh,
guess that I should tack an "Ontario" onto the end of that sentence. The
drive from my front door took about 40 minutes, including a run on the
401 highway, plus some touring through farm country. It was a sunny
day, with temperatures in the 60's and a frisky breeze blowing and
snatching at my sun hat.

Paris, Ontario is located between Brantford and Cambridge and the main
street follows along beside the Grand River, with the stores on that side
backing onto the river, often with windows looking down onto the river
below. The main street features small stores with a nice selection of
goods for sale, including many gift stores and the odd antique shop.
Many of the stores are housed in buildings that probably date back over
80 years and those still retain some of their architectural features both
inside and out. Below is a picture of a ceiling medallion in a shop which
sold linens, towels, and fabrics.
After wandering around town for several hours, browsing through the
lovely shops, and enjoying the sights, we decided to look for someplace
nice to have lunch. We ended up at the Spruce Goose Restaurant (below)
which served delicious home made food. I had a Club sandwich, SIL had
a quiche and salad, and Nancy had a spinach salad. Just the nourishment
we needed to allow us to continue with our shopping.


Our final stop was the Mary Maxim's store located on the outskirts of Paris.
A large craft supply store which has been in business in the area for many,
many years. I've been a couple of times in the past and it was always lots
of fun to see all the lovely stuff that they sold. But that was before Michael's
came to Canada. Now, Michael's is scattered all over Southern Ontario, and
it pretty much carries the same things as Mary Maxim's, and more. The
selection of cross stitch supplies in Mary Maxim's is standard stuff. DMC
threads and material, kits by Dimensions and others, and the needles,
stands and stuff.
I didn't buy anything at Mary Maxim's, although they had a table top
Ott light that I was looking at and was considering buying. I need a good
light for home stitching but I'd prefer a floor model for use while sitting
in a comfy chair or sitting at the kitchen table. But the cost of a floor lamp
is prohibitive, at least at this time. Over $350.00 Canadian!! Eeek!! And
the table lamp would work out, with tax etc, to about half of that. I'm
saving my funds at the moment for our trip to the garden centre at the end
of the month, so the Ott light stayed behind when we left the store.

Actually, all I bought today was a gift for my Mom for Mother's Day next
weekend. Shocking, I know. But it was a lovely outing which we all
enjoyed very much. Hope everyone else is enjoying the weekend too.

Country Shops with the stitching on the shops complete, except for the
names of the stores back stitched onto the signs. I'll save that for last. I
have to stitch the vines, hearts and checkerboard corners above the shops
and then it'll be done. I remember from the first piece that I did in this
series that the vines were a major pain to do for some reason. Had to do
a bit of frogging as I recall until I had it all placed correctly. We'll see how
this one goes.

I've meant to write about a lovely evening that I had one week ago when
I joined my neighbour Amy for a lady's night out. A local church was
having a "Desert and Lecture" night and Amy and a few of her friends
were going, and she asked if I'd care to join them. Desert Night???
Oh, yeah sure, twist my arm.

So, kicking and screaming, they dragged me to Desert Night. I was
surprised by the crowd that showed up for this occasion. They said
that there were about 400 women at the event. There were tables
set up in the auditorium, covered in crisp white table clothes, and set
with flowers, lit candles and the necessary tableware. There were
tables loaded with deserts scattered around the room, manned by
teenage volunteers and each table was assigned to a specific "Desert
Station". The deserts ranged from home made to store bought and
there was something there for every one's taste. Oh, and there was
a chocolate fountain as well! We lined up, loaded our plates with
goodies, and returned to our seats where we shared bites of
whatever we'd chosen with each other. My favourite was a chocolate
meringue cake with whipped cream on top and sprinkled with
raspberries and blackberries. Oh heaven indeed!! The Bailey's
cake was good too.

As much as the Deserts were a big draw though, the person giving
the evenings lecture in the main hall of the church was probably as
much of a draw in her own right, if not more so. Her name is Kim
Phuc and most of us know her because we've all seen her in a very
famous photograph. She was the nine year old child in a picture
taken during the Vietnam war, running down a dirt road, her
clothes burned off by napalm, arms outstretched and face contorted
in anguish and terror. Yes, most of us know that picture and we
shudder at the memory of it.

Amazingly, Kim Phuc survived that horrible experience, thanks in
part to the photographer who took that picture, and who rushed
her to the hospital. Sadly, her three year old cousin did not survive
that day. There were pictures taken of him too, in his mother's arms.
Most of us could not look at those pictures.

Kim grew up in Vietnam, after the war, under the Communist
regime. She was used as a propaganda tool by the government,
and was unable to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor because
of it. She was sent to Cuba, and lived there for six years. She met
her husband there, and after they married they were allowed to
go to Moscow for their honeymoon. It was on the return trip from
their honeymoon that their plane stopped in Gander, Nfld for
refueling, and they took the opportunity to defect. They have
been living in Canada ever since.

Kim's faith in God is strong, and that was part of her lecture. She
also feels strongly about the futility of war, and she is working to
raise money to improve the lives of other's less fortunate then us,
who live in war ravaged countries. She also talked about her
recovery from her injuries and how she still has to deal with a
great deal of pain, even after all these years. She is a lovely
woman of 44 years now, with a beautiful smile. She has two
young sons with her husband and she is proud of how Canadian
they are.

Listening to Kim Phuc speak, and indeed just seeing her
walk out on stage, alive and relatively well, after knowing her
only through that infamous picture, was an emotional moment.
Not many people could have survived such a horrible experience
with the grace and the joy and the gratitude that she has. It was
an evening I'll remember for a long time.

Spring has certainly arrived here in earnest at last. In just a week
the trees have put out buds, the garden is growing by leaps and
bounds and the grass is growing. DH mowed for the first time this
season on Sunday. He spent much of Sunday afternoon digging,
raking and poking around in the yard. He was in his glory! I got
my household chores done as early as possible, and spent a few
hours out on the front porch stitching. Then, in the evening, we
went to a pot luck supper for DH's praise group choir which they
have at the end of each month. This month food theme was
Italian. Mmmmmmmmm.

And finally, a picture of our hallway linen closet. Well, it was our
linen closet. When we had the bathroom renovated about 13 years
ago we had a linen cupboard built in there. So this one was not
necessary. Two years ago, when we had the upstairs bedrooms
and hallway done we had this little closet turned into a book shelf.
Because, after all, you can never have too many bookcases.

Finished reading "The Sunday Wife" by Cassandra King on the week
end and am now reading "A Girl of the Limberlost". I couldn't put
"The Sunday Wife" down and read it in a couple of days. I highly
recommend it.

Guess what!!! I've been so bad, again! I was browsing through Stitching
Bit's n Bob's website a few weeks ago (very innocently) and discovered
that they were having an Easter sale. Well, what could I do? I had a list
made up of charts that I wanted, and I've been wanting to lay in some
fabric to have on hand for future projects, and one thing just led to another.

So, to tally up the damage....here is what I got:

1. Old Books ~ Cricket Collection
2. Family Mittens ~ Cricket Collection
3. All Hearts Come Home ~ With My Needle
4. Spot of Tea 1 ~ Samplers and Such
5. Watermelon ~ Little House Needleworks
6. Friendship In All Seasons ~ The Trilogy
7. French Country - Love ~ JBW Designs
   

The lovely fabric pieces are:

1. Queen Anne's Lace ~ Fat Quarter~ Jobelan
2. Pink Dahlia ~ Fat Quarter ~ Jobelan
3. Summer Sky ~ Fat Quarter ~ Jobelan

I've never gotten charts from any of the above designers before,
except for Little House Needleworks, so I was curious to see how
they packaged and printed their charts. All look to be reasonably
clearly charted and if I need to I can always use the photocopier
at work to make a bigger working copy when I'm stitching.

These are my first hand dyed fabrics and I love them!! Especially
the blue one. Gosh! When we started stitching back in the late
80's we never dreamed that these fabrics and hand dyed threads
would appear and enhance the stitching experience. I can't
understand how anyone could claim that cross stitching is not as
popular today with all this beautiful stuff out there to work with.
The many different designers available to chose from means that
there has to be a style out there to suit any one's taste. We are
so lucky to have them.

Okay, enough gushing from me. I'm all excited about my new
acquisitions (now I understand somewhat about how Gollum felt
about his "precious"!!) so please excuse the hyper boil.

I should also say that I added these charts to my "want's it" list
after reading stitcher's blogs out there and seeing their versions
of these projects all stitched and finished up. Many times viewing
pictures of these things on the designer's websites you can't
make out much detail from their pictures, and sometimes it's
almost impossible to see anything at all that conveys the
beauty of the project adequately. So when I go to Becky's site
or Lelia's or Shannon's or anyone else's (and there is a very, very
long list of blogs that I haunt and love) I get a better idea of what
a design looks like then on the site of the person who designed it.
And their awesome finishing techniques enhance the piece even
more. Okay, I'm gushing again. Sorry.

And I should add that I am very impressed with the service
that I've recieved from Stitching Bit's n Bobs. Very quick
delivery of my orders from them so far. Thanks Bobbie!

I should go make dinner. DH has mini-choir tonight so has to be
fed and out the door by 7:00. It's a rainy, grey day here so the
garden will be happy. TGIF!!!

And speaking of the garden, here's another charming, blurry shot of our
backyard taken last weekend when the sun was shining. Hurray for
Spring!!!

As promised (threatened) in my last post, here are the books that I
found at the used book sale last Saturday. The books that I bought
are:

1. The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith
2. Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith
3. The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
4. Somewhere Lies the Moon by Kathryn Lynn Davis
5. A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter
6. The Sunday Wife by Cassandra King
   

All are hardcovers, and are in very good condition. I actually
started reading "The Sunday Wife" today and it's fantastic. The
author has a great sense of humour which shows up throughout her
writing. I suspect that I'll be looking for more of her books after I've
finished this one.

The only author in the above list that I've read before is Kathryn
Lynn Fowler. I have a couple of her books, although I've only read
one so far.

I've heard a lot about Alexander McCall Smith and his various
series of books. I've been thinking about trying one or two of them
out to see if I'll like them. One series is "The No. 1 Ladies Detective
Agency" and the other is "Isabel Dalhousie Mystery's". So now I
can read these and see if I like his style of writing or not.

"A Girl of the Limberlost" was first published around 1905. I recall
hearing the title at some time but don't know anything about the
book or it's author. There is information at the beginning of the book
about the author Gene Stratton Porter and it says that she was a
prolific writer who's books were very popular in their time. I have
it in my mind that this story might be similar to the coming of age
type stories such as Lucy Maude Montgomery might write, or
Louisa May Alcott. I'm looking forward to reading this one too.

I have a confession to make. I have never read any of Jane Austen's
books. I have all of them, and obviously I'd like to read them some-
day, but I guess that I feel a bit intimidated by them. I know that
those who read Jane Austen and enjoy her writings are often quite
passionate about her books. I like that. Even two hundred years
after her death she has a large and loyal following. But I'm afraid
that I'll pick up one of her books, and try to read it, and I won't be
able to get into it. I've never been able to read any of the Bronte
sister's books, although I have read a sizable biography about them.
Will I have the same difficulty with Jane Austen?

So why did I pick up "The Jane Austen Book Club" by Karen Joy
Fowler??? I guess in part I'm hoping that it'll tweak my interest in
the Jane Austen books and encourage me to pick one up. It looks
to be a fun read in it's own right.

There's a bunch of new books coming out in May that I'm going to be
getting for sure. Top of my list however is Kelley Armstrong's latest
which is coming out in hardcover. It's called "No Humans Involved".
If you like a well written, humourous read with supernatural overtones
then Kelley's books are not to be missed.