Busy May!! WARNING!! Long Post ahead!!

I cannot even begin to tell you how busy things have been around here!!  Since I last blogged we have been thru Easter, a whole round of birthdays, Mother's Day, trip to Ottawa, and tree!!  

As you can see below, half of  a tree fell on the house.  It was 6:30 am and I was laying in bed and not sure what woke me up.  I could hear the wind whip, and thunder, so I think that was what woke me up.  A couple minutes later I hear a crash and then the whole house shook!  It rattled my teeth, I don't mind telling you!  LOL!  So looked out the window, and saw the tree down!  Miraculously, I still had Internet!  My hi-speed module was hanging on the old TV antennae!  But then 45 minutes later, a hydro pole halfway up the driveway, gave way, right at ground level (it was rotten at the base)!  So no more power and Internet for me! It took three days to get a new pole put in and the hydro turned back on!

Thank heavens my Hubby came home later that day!  We were able to run my fridge and freezer off his truck!  Then the next morning, my Dad brought over a generator so I could run a couple other things!

I just had to show this picture of a little chipmunk!  I love to watch their antics!  They stuff their little cheeks with all the seeds my birds drop from the feeders!

On to the stitching update!  I have finished Part 21 of CITA!  This has just been so much fun to stitch!!  Again, my Mom chose the Fantasy version over the Floral one!

Here is the close-up!  I can't believe that I only have 2 parts left!  As much as I want for it to be done, I think that I will miss it!  I hope Yvonne does another SAL after this one, as I have done the last two of hers and have enjoyed them immensely!  I love learning all the specialty stitches!

I went away for Mother's Day weekend!  Now when I booked it, I didn't realize that Mother's Day was that weekend!  I dropped DD off at my Mom's, then I went to Hubby's Aunt Bev's!  A few years ago, I got her into scrapbooking, and she does the most beautiful layouts and cards!  I haven't done any scrapping lately, so  I thought it would be fun!  And it was!!  We scrapped, and shopped, and scrapped some more!  She showed me the most fun techniques and little tricks!  I did two layouts and three cards!  They were so much fun to do!

The one above is a two page layout, that I did of DD and her two cousins when they were here for a sleepover!  They dressed up in princess play costumes and made poor Periwinkle join the fun!! LOL!

The next one is just some photos I took of DD a few years ago at the cottage, on the dock!  I think we were waiting for Hubby, as he was off riding our SeaDoo!  These are among my favourite photos of my daughter, as they capture her personality so well!

This was a card I made for DD to give as a "thank you" card for friends of ours!  They gifted Samantha with a generous amount of money for her Ottawa trip!

The card below is my sister's birthday card!  She loves ladybugs!  I just realized that I forgot to photograph the biscornu I made for her!  Will have to get her to send me a photo of it! 

This card was for my BIL!  I wanted it in "manly" colours!!  LOL!

My Darling DD picked these for me from the flower beds, and I couldn't resist sharing!  I LOVE the smell of Lilies of the Valley!  For such a small flower, they sure pack a punch in the fragrance department!

I joined a new group a couple weeks ago, after seeing some beautiful SAL's on other's blogs!!  This one is called the Tree of Stitches by Abi Gurden of The Stitch Specialists Yahoo group, and I can't wait to start it!!  I have it kitted up and am using some linen and  Crescent Colors, GAST and Weeks Dye Works that I had on hand!  I am trying to use up what I have instead of always buying more!

The next two pictures are of our trip to Ottawa!  DD and I had so much fun!  We went with the Grade 7/8 class of Our Lady of Fatima school!  (DD's school!) We took a coach bus for the long journey and the kid's were great!  Our bus driver was fantastic, our tour guide "guy" was wonderful!  The kid's had been fundraising for the school year, so they got some of the amount taken off their price, plus $20 extra spending money!  We left on Tuesday May 17 and got back Friday May 21!  It was action packed and very busy!!

 The above picture was taken at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, in Gatineau, Quebec, just across the river from Ottawa, Ontario.  In fact, right across the river in the background, is the Parliament building!

Below is a picture of the Peace Tower!

I'll only show a couple pictures at a time, as I don't want you all to become bored with my blog!  And there are some I can't show, as I don't have the permission of the kid's parents!

And last but certainly not least, here is my bird picture!  This is one that my Dad doesn't have!  (ha ha Dad!! Just teasin'!)  This one is called a Northern Flicker!  Sort of a ground woodpecker!  They like ants!

Trying to finish up my ornament for my ornament SAL, and have Part 22 of CITA printed out and ready to go!  Cinderella and The Tree of Stitches are both ready to go and calling my name as well!  But first I must tidy my craft room so I can make invitations for my DD's 13th birthday party next week!  I am taking four girls to get mini manicures and pedicures, then back to our house for home made pizza and cupcakes, and a sleepover!  Wish me well!!  LOL! I also hope to get my flowers planted this weekend, so hopefully next week I can post about that!  Hope everyone has nice weather where they are! Chat soon! 

April Tidings!

Hello all!  It's my monthly update!  That seems to be the frequency of my posts.  I'm not sure why that is.  I would like to post more, but things get in the way!  Like housework, illness, you know, life!  I think it's a woman's lot in life!  I feel guilty that I haven't posted, but feel guilty if I post and haven't got my housework done!  It's just a vicious circle.  How about I'll do my best?  Does that sound alright?

This is a finish for Brooke's Books Yahoo group challenge.  Unfortunately, I didn't get it done in time!  DD, my Mom and I had gone away for a few days early March Break up to my sister's in Peterborough to visit, shop and hang out!  Very close family friends, Deb and Wendy with her little guy Korbin joined us for a couple of those days.  We had fun, visiting shopping, drinking wine, playing Korbin and my sister's new puppy!  But after getting home, I got a wicked head cold!  I don't wish that on anyone!  So I wasn't able to get it done on time, but made this one a priority to finish up as soon as I was well!

I used some linen that I had on hand and beads and metallics from my stash!  Quite pleased with it, actually!  I have a couple ideas for finishing it, so when I decide and finally get it done, I will post!

Next is my update for CITA!  Part 20!  Only 4 parts to go!  I don't want to gush again, (but I will!) but I am loving how it is turning out so far!  This month's version is a wonderful bee hive!  With lots of specialty stitches!  This one is really stretching my stitching muscles!

Here is the close-up!  There was the Herringbone stitch, Lazy Daisy, Rhodes Berry, Ray stitch, Partial Eyelet, Spider Webs, Fishbone stitch, and the Chain stitch!  I had never done the Chain stitch before, and it's not as hard as I thought!

Next up is my Ornament of the Month for April!

This one is by LHN, Gingerbread Tree from the 2010 JCS Ornament Preview issue!  This one was so fun and fast to stitch up!  It only took two days!  I started it at my DD's rowing practice.

DD has really kept me hopping, with rowing, basketball, now volleyball (which is over next week!  Yay!) and we just started horse-back riding lessons again!  And she was sick last weekend!  She called me up from school last Friday afternoon saying that she wasn't feeling well!  She was right!  She had fever, chills and a rash on her wrists and inner elbows!  There was some bug going around at school, and what a bug!!  I kept her home an extra day Monday to be on the safe side.  And she is back to her normal self!

I also took our kitten, Chloe into the vet's to get spade this past Wednesday!  I just picked her up this morning!  Boy is she glad to be home!  And I really missed her!  She's always following me around the house!  The only thing is, she went into her first heat a week before her appointment!  I made the appointment, and the next day she was in heat!  Figures!  But after three days, she was done!  My DD was worried that she was really sick!  Having to explain to my 12 year old was so funny!  By the time I had finished my explanation, she had this really disgusted look on her face!  It was priceless!!

Here are a couple of my recent bird pictures!  I zoomed in on them from inside my house to the trees!  I just love watching the birds!  I get so excited!  My DD just rolls her eyes!  But my Hubby will point them out when he's home!

Let's hope that Spring is finally here!  We had a lovely day here in Southwestern Ontario yesterday!  Light breezes and sunshine!  It was glorious!  It is still warm today, but overcast!  I would really like the sun to shine for more than a day at a time!  Because I really need to get outside and clean up the lawn!  I have huge amounts of sticks and branches and stones to pick up off the yard!  I hope that Spring had arrived where you are, and that you can get out and enjoy warmth!  Have a lovely weekend, everyone and chat soon!

March Has Been Good To Me, So Far!

Boy, am I glad February is over!  The weather has been crappy!!  Snowy, cold, and all I have wanted to do all month is hibernate!  But have heard that winter isn't done with us yet!  Apparently, it's supposed to be cold and yucky into May!  Darn weather man!  Did you know that Meteorologist is Latin for "Liar" ?! (Just kidding!  Heard that joke somewhere before!  LOL!)

Since the weather has been so bad, I have been fairly busy stitching since I last blogged!  Have finished off two more sides of the VS Gingerbread Stitching House!  I love watching them together!

And here is my update on Castles in the Air!  Part 19 had either another floral square or a "Folly", and enchanted glade!  Mom chose the folly!

Here is the close-up!

Next, here is my March Ornament of the Month SAL piece!  It is from the 2006 JCS Ornament issue!  Had this on kitted up for a while, so I thought I would get it done!  I think I will be turning this one into a pillow ornament!

One of the few bright spots in the month, was a trip to my LNS  , Stitch-It-Central, with my DD and my parents!  Mom, DD and I spent just over an hour in the store, while Dad waited patiently (Thanks, Dad!) in the car!  It is a good thing we stopped for coffee first!  LOL!  This is a fantastic store, and she has a super on-line store as well!  Maria is wonderful!  And her selection is great!  If you get a chance to visit or shop on-line, please do so!  Her prices are very competitive!  I plan on doing most of my needlework buying with her!

Picked up Crescent and Weeks Dye Works floss for more SAL ornaments, as well as a few DMC's, some fabric for a Christmas project, Kreinik threads for DD and myself, and a smaller hoop for the ornament stitching!  Plus, she gave Mom and I each a small Lizzie Kate chart for the month of February!  Which was only for on-line customers!  Not sure I should have mentioned that, but I just wanted to show you all how wonderful I think she is!  Mom gave my DD hers because DD mentioned that she liked it!  That is how it came to be in my picture!

Here is DD's latest cross-stitch project!  This is from 2004 JCS Ornament issue, by Dragon Dreams!  She had most of it stitched, except for the metallic portion and the french knots.  It called for Colonial knots, but as I had never done those before, I asked whether french ones were okay!  Wasn't really a question so much as a statement!  LOL!  She's happy with the way it turned out!  Now she is working on a new project from Janlynn's called Forever Wild.  It's of horses, of course!

I am so excited!  I discovered I won a blog giveaway this morning!  I had actually forgotten that I entered!  I subscribe to this blog by email, and usually get it the next day.  So I started reading the blog entry for yesterday while I was having my coffee this morning.  Not really paying all that much attention, more skimming the entry, towards the bottom I'm reading the winner's comments to the two giveaways, and one starts to seem familiar!  Lo and behold, there is my name!  It made my day! So I emailed my thanks and address to the email supplied!  I can't wait for it to get here!  It is a new book, not yet released called Cardmaps Today, from Scrapbook and Cards Today magazine!  I think I should enter more giveaways!  LOL! 

Have started a new project from Little House Needleworks called Gingerbread Trio!  I couldn't help it, it called to me and I finally got all the floss for it!  Tee hee!  Then it will back to the Flower of the Month afghan, more VS Gingerbread Stitching House, and Part 20 of CITA!  Don't have any new bird photos this month, so far!  Hopefully it gets warm soon so I'll have some new ones!  I hope the weather is starting to get better where ever you are!  Chat soon!

SAL Finishes, and a New House!

Hi all!  I hope everyone's week has been a good one, and all have managed to survive the wicked weather!  Our area didn't get the ammount the weatherman was calling for, but we still got enough!  My DD had a snow day last Wednesday, and a PA day on the Thursday, so she was quite happy!  She and I spent her snow day stitching and watching movies, which was lovely!  And since I got my housework done Thursday and Friday, now all I have to do this weekend is laundry and stitching!

On to the updates!  Finished Part 18 of Castles in the Air by Papillon Creations!  A little Tudor cottage!  I just can't seem to stop gushing about this one!  I love how everything is turning out!  But I think that if I had the whole complete chart in front of me, I would be overwhelmed!  But by stitching pieces of it every month, it isn't overwelming and I look forward to the challange!

Here is a close up!  I just love the arbor!  It is just so sweet!

I outlined the fence, otherwise you couldn't see it, and adding metallic blue to the white would just look silly on the fence!

I also started the February ornament for my ornament SAL.  I really wanted to do a Gingerbread one, and really liked the Country Cottage Needlework one from the August JCS ornament preview issue.  As I was stitching it, I noticed the title,"Season of Love" and thought it was pretty apprpriate for the month of February!  February being the month of love, hearts and other gushy stuff!  LOL!

Have a new start to share with you!  I couldn't help it!  I thought it was so cute!  I am working on Brooke's Books Winter House Challenge!  I used some fabric, metallic floss and beads that I had in my stash!  We are to make it our own by adding beads, buttons and whatever else takes our fancy!  It has two cardinals in it, so you see why I needed to stitch this one?!?!

This is what I have done so far!  I have set it down now though to work on my Flower of the Month afghan, Februrary's Violets!

I don't have any new pictures of birds, but I thought I would show you one that I took over the summer.

I am sorry that it is kind of hazy, but my camera went from air conditioned house to hot late afternoon summer air very quickly, and I had to get the shot!  There was a banded pigeon that had started to hang around my bird feeders (Sorry, I should have taked pictures of it!) for a few days.  But one day I noticed a bunch of white stuff on the back lawn, and went over to investigate, and discovered it was feathers!  Later that afternoon I saw this Cooper Hawk guarding its kill!  I felt bad for the pigeon, but it was sorta neat to see the hawk!  But other birds disappeared for a few hours!  They don't particularly like it when hawks come to visit!  LOL!  The hawk took off with the pigeon into a tree.

Well, that's all I have to share this time!  I hope everyone is staying warm and dry, and stitching!  Till next time!

Stitching, Cats and Big Red!

Hi all! I had intended to post an update on Monday, but it didn't get done! I have a real good excuse this time! Honest!

My internet provider was down for part of day. So, you see it really wasn't my fault! Then the power went out for a few minutes. I waited all day for the internet provider to get things worked out. I called them a couple of times to see when the problem would be resolved, and waited very patiently and politely. (With my old provider, I was snarly and miserable, because we always had so many problems, dial-up, phone lines, it was endless misery!) Then Hubby came home after picking up his load, and for supper before taking off for California. My internet was still down, so Hubby called for me to try and see what the issue was. He spoke to a really nice girl and they were trying all kinds of trouble-shooting, only to realize that I had forgotten to push the reset button on the huge surge protector!! (see above mention of power outage!) Now again, in my defense, I wasn't here when the wireless router was installed (Hubby did that!) and don't remember if he mentioned that fact. Well, now I know! The look on his face was a combination of resignation and exapiration. I am used to that. Technology and all its accompanying cords defeat me.

On to the updates, and better late than never, right? Here is the second side of The Victorian Sampler Gingerbread Stitching House. I am LOVING working with silks!! But I have to make sure that my hands aren't rough! The silks really catch on every little thing!

This is the very first biscornu that I ever stitched, but I never finished it! I couldn't figure out why it was so hard to sew together! I had a tutorial up and was following the instructions, but it still was very hard to do! I put it away to work on at a later date, and promptly forgot about it. I was between projects, and starting to go thru my stash and found it again. So I decided it was time to put it together. As I looked at it I realized that I had only used one strand of floss for the backstitched border around the design. No wonder I was having trouble whipstitching! Trying to get the needle under one strand was a exercise in frustration! After I removed the one strand and replaced it with 2 stands of floss, things went much better. As a matter of fact, I finished it that night! A UFO done!

Here is my first ornament for an ornament SAL, going for the whole year. We do one a month, and at the end of the year, we should have 12 ornaments finished! I have the stitching done, but not the actual finishing. I think I need to chat with the finisher, aka Mom! LOL!

I had a picture of my Spring Carousel Horse, but it was blurry when I looked at the photo on my computer, so that will have to wait! I only finished a few leaves, so there wasn't really that much to report anyways.

Here are some pictures of my kitties!

Chloe is very playful and likes to get into michief!! The only plant that I have and haven't managed to kill, she tries to eat!! It is my gardenia plant!

Here is Princess Periwinkle who is not at all happy with the new one! She is my baby!

Here is Hubby's buddy, Copper! This is the usual scene! All he does is sleep and eat! And snore!! Typical male!!

Now for my GRAND FINALE!! My Dad and I love to watch the birds, and he has taken special delight in telling me that he has a woodpecker at his place that I don't! He has named him "Big Red"! Everytime I was over there, I'd ask where this woodpecker was, and Dad would inform me that he had already been there! I accused Dad that he was lying! LOL! Well, I now have my own "Big Red"!! I have been trying for two weeks to get a shot of this shy giant, and Monday managed to shoot him!! Here he is!! The red-bellied woodpecker! (I'm not sure where his red belly is, but m bird book informs me that this is his name!) He actually looks like he was spray-painted with flourescent paint!

I have come to the end of the update. I am working on Part 18 of Castles in the Air, and hope to be done today. Then I would like to start Brooke's Books Winter House Challange, until February 1, when I need to work on another ornament and EMS 2010 Flower SAL afghan. Hope all is well with everyone, and the weather is good where you are! Till next time!

New Year, New SAL

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I know we did here, but we were very busy! Went up to Peterborough to spend Christmas with my sister and her hubby! We all got spoiled rotten! Chloe even came with us. She was just a little too young to be left home!

And, yes, I am one of those that likes to dress up the pets! Just a photo of my DD and Chloe in their Santa hats! Doesn't Chloe look thrilled?

This is the ornament I made for the new little one, Korbin, son of my Baby Sis! Again, thanks Mom, aka my finisher! LOL!

And the back!

I got some new stash just before Christmas! DD and I headed off to the big city to finish up some last minute gift card shopping, and stopped in the LNS! Had a gift certificate to use up, and it must be used in one visit, sooo, I chose this one! I have a real collection going of gingerbread themed projects! My family LOVES gingerbread cookies! And I would love to make a few for display in my kitchen!

I got a new pair of scissors for Christmas from Hubby and DD! I love these! The Sonia pattern from Ginger!!

Here is the progress on my Spring Carousel Horse. The bottom left portion of the trellis! I just started the other day, after a couple months of being put down trying to catch up on others!

Here is the latest installment of Papillon Creations' SAL Castles in the Air.

A close-up of the mermaid! Now just waiting for the next installment.

I have started a new SAL! I asked for and received for Christmas two afghans to cross stitch on! Thanks Mom! This is last years EMS Flower SAL. I had collected them all every month faithfully, and was going to save up my money to purchase the afghans, but my Mom told me to wait for Christmas! Here is January's Carnation. An alphabet was included, but I'm not too fussy about it, so I am looking for something cursive, a little more flowery, if you will! If I can't find anything, I will attempt to come up with my own.

In my stocking this year, I got a gift card for Chapter's book store! I went in to Chapter's up in Peterborough, but couldn't find any books that I wanted. But online, they have way more in stock, and at much cheaper prices! So I bought myself some reference books! I have wanted to branch out with my stitching, and these come highly recommended!

I have the first PageMap's book, so the second was a must have!

I don't have any new bird pictures this month! But I hope to soon! We have new binoculars and I got a bird reference book for Christmas from my sister and her hubby! I have no excuse for not knowing the names of birds! LOL!
I hope everyone has a good day, and I will try to be better about updating more often!