It's That Time of the Week

Yes, it's that time of the week... blogging update time. It seems to have come round real quick this week..... and already a whole week into the new month of March. That certainly flew past.

So, what have I been up to since my last post? Well, that looked forward to visit with my DSis had to be called off, as my stomach kicked off and I came down with a bit of a bug. :0( Aaaahhh, now I remember why this week seems to have flown past.... I spent the best part of two days doing nothing but sleeping, so I kinda lost them. LOL DSis and I have made up for it by having long chats on the phone, though it's not quite the same as spending actual time together. She has more holidays later in the year, so am sure another opportunity for a visit will present itself so we can make up for lost time then. Thankfully I feel much better now. :0)

As soon as I was up on my feet again I realised my DBro's birthday is fast approaching, so I made a card for him:

As inspiration was a little lacking I opted to cheat and used some of the KanBan goodies I'd bought last month. Some of this is decoupaged but the scan seems to have lost some of the 3-D look of it. My DBro is a very good DIY enthusiast, so it's very apt. :0)

It's also that time of the week for SAL updates too. Yes, folks, I'm going to bore you all with yet another pic of Mother Earth! Believe me, you are going to be sooooo sick of seeing Her by the time the whole piece is finished. LOL With not being too well Sea Stars didn't come out to play last week, so I made ME my focus piece instead and it's showing the benefit of that - even DH made a comment on how it's coming on. Here's where I left off last night:

Basically, I carried on with the next section of background between the edge of the last page and the next tree trunk and brought it down to the bottom of that page. I stitched in part of the tree trunk too, as it will give me a good marker to work from.... and make it easier for you to see what's been added next time around. (Yes, I could hear you all groaning at that! LOL).

It's also the time for the monthly update over at the Stitcher's Showcase SAL Blog, so I do have something a little different to show you (Wow, I swear I almost heard a full on version of the Hallelujah Chorus then. ROFL). Here's where February's progress got to:

Am glad to have finished that central section as it gives a much better view of how the variegations in the Thai silk are stitching up... and I'm pretty pleased with it. If you have a look in the bottom right corner you can see the thread I'll be using for the next section of this design. I almost made a start on that earlier in the week but decided on making ME my priority instead. Who knows, I may decide to put a length or two of the thread into this tonight....... will see what mood takes me when I park my behind in my armchair later. Yes, it's good TV night tonight (Larkrise to Candleford and Seven Ages of Britain) so I shall be getting a serious case of Stitch Ass whilst they're on. :0)

The Great Car Hunt continued yesterday, with a slight change in the search, as DH said not to concentrate on new cars just so we can take advantage of the scrappage scheme, but to think of it as a search on two levels: one that includes the scrappage and one that doesn't rule any car out. OK, why didn't he tell me that to start with? I'd ruled out several older cars that I liked the look of because we wouldn't be able to take advantage of the scrappage scheme with them. So we went back to view some of the Used cars again that had taken my eye. I didn't like some of them when I sat in them because I was sat so low it would have been dangerous. Why do they make cars in such a way that you don't get a good view of even the bonnet, let alone the road ahead, because you can only just see over the dashboard?
Anyhow, the upshot is that the search may be over..... I rather liked a 2008 Kia Picanto Ice Special Edition, in a lovely icy blue colour (a cross between light blue/grey/silver) that has all the basics I wanted (air bag, air con, CD Player, adjustable drivers seat and the like). What I really like about it though is that it's a small car without being cramped, the drivers seat adjusts up (I can see the bonnet and the road!) and, more importantly, it doesn't have a foot of wheel arches sticking out of the sides, or half a mile of extra bumper front and back. Why do manufacturers add these on when all they are are hazards that are crying out to get scraped?! You've got to remember folks: I haven't been behind the wheel of a car in ten years.... and my last car was an original Mini. I loved that car, as I knew exactly where every bit of it was and I could get into any parking space without a problem.... I just wasn't so keen on the sick-making, bone jarring, boob-bouncing ride that comes from not having a decent suspension and the Council's not maintaining the roads. Yes, I'll be having refresher lessons before I venture out on the roads again... but I want that added confidence of knowing exactly where every edge of the car is because I want to avoid getting those scrapes. And because I really don't want DS taking the wee-wee and claiming men are better drivers! ;0) We should be going back to the garage to give it a test drive soon.

DS went over to Bradford on Saturday, with friends, to go and visit another friend who now lives and works there, and they all went out for curry and a few beers to celebrate the friends birthday. He's back now and has disappeared off to the theatre.... DH is already there, as it's the Get In for another amateur dramatics group and they're helping out. Yes, folks, the TV remote is all mine once again. You know, I could really get used to this! LOL

Right, time for me to go and catch up with blog reading and commenting, have something to eat (just me for an evening meal tonight) and then work on getting that Stitch Ass. :0)

Many thanks for visiting and for the kind comments you leave. Hope you have all been having a lovely weekend.... and that the week ahead is a good one. :0)