Days Out & Days In

I'm still here - although the trek down the windswept High Street on Thursday did almost take my breath away! It was productive though, as we stopped in at the local craft shop and came away with two thicknesses of Vilene and various lengths of pretty trimmings for finishing items and a good idea of what else they stock for future reference. :0) I also re-joined the local library (just a couple of minutes walk from our house now) and took out a couple of books - one of which is about Boudica, which is very interesting. There's method in my madness here: now I've got the books out I've got to take them back - a nice incentive to break that final barrier, left over from the agoraphobia, of going out of the house on my own. It'll be just far enough to be a challenge but not too far that I can't see myself ever doing it. :0)

Friday we went to my DSis's in Doncaster for the day. The weather was still a bit wild, with occasional downpours, but no snow. We took her out to a garden centre for dinner as a belated birthday treat and so she could spend some of the garden vouchers she was given for Christmas and her birthday. She came away with a ceramic hanging bird bath, a pole to hang it from, a suet slab and a holder for it. No garden pots, as they didn't have a matching pair in a design she liked. DH got a few bits, including a book about the Spitfire, and I couldn't resist this coaster:
It appealed to my sense of humour - although DS swears the only one who isn't normal in this family is me. I really don't know what he means. ROFLMAO

The weekend was down for more lousy weather so we opted for staying in and getting a few things done. Saturday I decided to finish the Ozark border so set to with determination.......... only to realise that I'd made two mistakes: one on the left side and one at the top, right near the start. After frogging what I'd done on the left and taking the top back from the beginning - around three lengths of thread (definitely a cross stitch moment) - the top mistake was corrected (this would've made the border one stitch too short and put everything else out) and the rest was re-stitched. That mistake meant it didn't get finished Saturday, as planned. It did get finished Sunday afternoon though: It won't all fit on the scanner, so the pic is of the bit that will, just to give you an idea of colours etc. The amount of thread given for this was very generous and there's loads left over. :0)

Sunday evening was the turn of the Amanda SAL: fabric marked with the top corner starting point and tacked onto the scroll frame ready to make a start whenever the mood takes me.

Guess I could've got more done but I had to keep breaking off in the afternoon, which set me back. DS finally got round to boxing up the Lego models and other bits that were left in the little bedroom (my future craft room) and I was helping him seal the boxes and mark them, ready for them going in the loft until he gets his own place. Then I was on veg peeling and prep duties for our dinner - whilst I would've much preferred to have continued stitching I do like to eat occasionally and, as it was roast lamb with all the trimmings, it was well worth giving up the time for. ;0)

Alex isn't coming for her usual visit today so, once I've done all the jobs and caught up with blogs I'm hoping to get some extra stitching time in. The choices are: making a start on the Amanda SAL or on the February Challenge, which is a beautiful heart design by Kris of Dragonfly Stitches. Decisions, decisions!

Despite all the forecasts for lots of snow over the last few days we haven't had any here, just a tiny amount of hail and lots of wind and rain. So, the question is: who kept all the snow then? LOL

Hope you've all had a good weekend, despite the weather, and that the week has got off to a good start for you. :0)