Ship Ahoy?

Not quite, though there is a whole ships wheel with an octopus wrapped round it to be seen on my Sea Stars now, after that extra night of stitching I did last week. :0)


Yes, there's also another little fishy made an appearance too. I seem to be a fair ways behind both Barb and Rosanne now, who seem to have smokin' needles, but that doesn't bother me - am so enjoying stitching this design it'll be one of those pieces that I'll be sad to finish because the enjoyment will be over. This Thursday I shall be making a start on the bigger motif that will fill the gap on the left side.

Apart from this piece and Night Watchman (SAL night and UFO Night pieces respectively) I haven't done a great deal of stitching lately, despite the plans made. Thankfully that hasn't been through loss of mojo but through distraction, due to what the Doc told me last week..... have been doing a lot of thinking, to get my head around a few things, so I can make decisions on those much-needed lifestyle changes. As a first step I've already more than halved my choccie biscuit intake and have cut down on portion size for my evening meal and have also asked DH and DS for their support, with a view to us cutting down on take-aways and generally eating healthier - that makes me feel I've taken a couple of small but positive steps towards losing the weight. It can only do DH good with his diabetes and will hopefully help DS avoid similar health problems later in life. :0)

Saturday I went for the Reiki treatment. That was a very good/positive experience I intend repeating next month, to allow the practitioner to complete the healing process she started. The Tarot and Angel Card readings she gave me afterwards were also extremely good and I also received messages from my Dad, then my Mum - I hadn't expected those, as I was unaware the practitioner is also a Spiritualist. I shall post more about all of this on my other blog in the next couple of days because it deserves a post all of it's own. :0) I should have been in there for a two hour session but it all took three and a half hours!

Afterwards I spoke to the Herbalist: I'm booked in for a two hour consultation on the 3rd December. In the meantime I am filling in a food diary, with any symptoms I feel (bloating, gas, stomach upsets, headaches etc etc) and taking a Chromium Complex, which is aimed at addressing my blood sugar problems. That's to see how it affects my next blood test result - if my level has dropped then the remedy is working. On the plus side: it looks like I won't have to bother with Slimming World, as the Herbalist is going to tackle my diet as well...... and she's pretty strict, by all accounts. By the time I came out it had gone dark and DH had given up and gone home - that was after he'd been to the local Community Hall to have a long look round a Model Exhibition (train track layouts, miniature fairgrounds and the like - very sophisticated ones), popping back to ask the Receptionist how it was going, then having a drink in Il Sorisso. Rather than bother DH I sent him a text to let him know I'd done and was coming home - yes, I walked home in the dark! LOL

Sunday, as Il Sorisso was open, we went there for dinner then afterwards carried on down the High Street to the shops that were open. We managed to get a few small Christmas gifts, a nice gift box for sending my Exchange gifts to my partner, some cards (I don't make all of the Christmas cards we send out - too many to make for) and some food shopping. Basically doing what we had planned on doing Saturday, after my session at the clinic, but subsequently didn't have time for. We had a nice lamb dinner at home in the evening and a quiet night in watching the latest Indiana Jones DVD.

Today has been my usual jobs day before having a coffee and natter with Alex. Don't know if it's a result of the Reiki but I feel as if I've got more energy than usual and seemed to get a lot done in a shorter space of time, without flagging as badly as I usually do. Hope that continues...... although DH flies out to Italy tomorrow, on another work trip with some of his colleagues, so sleep deprivation may just put a stop to that during the next few days. LOL Fingers crossed I can now catch up with some of that stitching that hasn't been getting done these last few days. :0)

Thank you for taking the time to visit. Hope you all had a good weekend and are managing to stay warm in this current cold snap. :0)

A Catch Up Post

Finally I get a decent day to take a pic of the latest progress on Sea Stars and what happens? I get camera wobble and by the time I'd realised it the light had gone, so I decided not to bother trying to take anymore and just go with the best of a bad batch. So here's where I got to after last weeks stitching:

Two more small motifs added to the left and more of the octopus and ship's wheel stitched. Hopefully this weeks SAL Night will see the completion of that and the start of the larger motif on the left.

There's nothing else stitchy-wise to show at the moment. I've been carrying on with getting projects sorted for my NAY basket and also chose the design I want to stitch for my Christmas Card Exchange partner, so I put in a small order to Sew & So last night for some of the threads, charms and a fabric needed for all of those. All those stash buys and I still don't have everything I need when it comes ot starting new projects! Once that order arrives I shall make a start on the card and then start whittling away at the NAY projects. :0)

Thanks for all the well wishes concerning the blood test visit. I don't know if it was because I hadn't eaten but when I caught sight of the size of the needle she was going to use I felt quite queasy. Needless to say, I kept my eyes shut through the whole thing and got out of there as quickly as I could. Once home I felt better........ once I'd had my toast and honey and cup of coffee I felt waaaay better. LOL Unfortunately my arm didn't - she managed to give me a good bruise and it felt uncomfortable for a few days afterwards...... thankfully it's much better now. I go for the results tomorrow (Wednesday) morning and to hear what they have to say about my blood pressure - am not looking forward to it at all but I need to know what they have to say before I can decide what my next step is. Wish me Luck!

Although there's not been a great lot of stitching done here recently I have been reading quite a bit instead and on Sunday night finished Raven Black by Ann Cleeves, a murder mystery based on Shetland, and also today a Children's fantasy fiction book called Ingo by Helen Dunmore. Both interesting reads, in their own ways - you can find out more from the Books I've Read section in the side bar or over at The Reading Corner, if you wish.

Speaking of books: DH and I had a day out over in Market Rasen on Saturday and I took the Candace Robb book with me to do a wild release for Book Crossing. We had dinner in the Joplins cafe and whilst there I popped into the Tourist Information Centre area in there and left the book on a table for someone to find and, hopefully, they'll take the time to make a journal entry on it and pass it on. None of my wild releases have been successful so far but I still live in hopes of one of them journeying soon. The controlled release book is the only one that has been successful so far, as it has travelled and been journalled on. So..... currently I have on offer to anyone who would like to read them: Ingo, Journey to the River Sea and The Champion, all I ask is that you be willing to make a journal entry on Book Crossing and subsequently pass the book on, once read. Just send me a separate message via the comments section. :0)

Whilst in Market Rasen I also managed to get all the bits I wanted for exchange gifts, as well as a couple of crystals and a meditation CD for myself. The meditation is one for Angel Healing - something the Aura photographer told me I need to ask for (more over on my other blog about that and other happenings at the M,B&S Event). I listened to it today and it's a good one which left me feeling lovely and calm afterwards - let's hope it brought my blood pressure down nicely, too. LOL All in all it was a good day out. :0)

Sunday we visited my DSis for the day. I took my stitching but didn't do any - spent much of the day chatting, catching up on all the news, and looking at some brochures, to see pics of the new bathroom suite she's chosen and should be having fitted before Christmas. She's also having to have the laminate flooring replaced in her living room, due to a radiator that burst one night and left the room looking like she'd got a paddling pool in there - it left the flooring quite warped and the joins have become tripping hazards. Luckily her insurance will cover the bulk of the cost of that. Poor DSis - the downside of owning a house have gradually been revealed to her since our Dad passed away.

Monday was DH's birthday and he had the day off. Unfortunately he was feeling tired and I wasn't feeling that great so, rather than taking him out for dinner, we ended up staying in. I got my jobs done, then gave in and had some Ibuprofen - thankfully they started to kick in just after Alex arrived for her visit. DH disappeared off onto the computer and left us to natter. Wise choice, as we started discussing some female health issues at one point. LOL No stitching again last night, as I felt shattered and ended up having an early night.

Today I've been catching up with a couple of jobs and some blog posting, with a view to stitching on Night Watchman again for UFO Tuesday. The earlier part of the day had a good development: the young couple next door are having some work done on their house, some of which is having the guttering, fascias & oojamaflips (it's all gobbledegook to me - haven't a clue which bit is what) done. As the chaps needed access down the side of our house to do the bargeboard on this side of the house (needed to unlock our sidegates so they could bring their ladders round) I got talking to them - as you do - and the upshot of that is that they're going to do a quote for our house for me. DH has been promising to have someone round to do this for aaaaaaaaaages and conveniently never got around to it - I've now had enough of waiting and have decided to take the initiative. The quote will be ready tomorrow, so Fingers (and everything else) Crossed that I can finally get DH to dip his hand in his wallet to get this much needed job done. :0)

I still haven't caught up with all of the blog reading - hopefully I'll manage that during the rest of the week.

Thank you for taking the time to visit and for the kind comments. Hope you're all having a good week. :0)

Something Fishy!

No, it isn't down to the wind from Grimsby Docks blowing in this direction. The something fishy is my Sea Stars SAL piece. As promised, here's a pic of where I left off after this weeks progress:

The right hand square motif is the one added this time around and it's in Carrie's Baja Blue plus I also managed to add a little to the ships' wheel and another little fish. I love that Baja Blue and would love to do a monochromatic design in just that thread at some point - will have to get thinking and looking through my stash to see what would suit. :0)

DH got back from his trip to Italy OK Friday night, tired but none the worse for wear. My nights sleep was only marginally better though, as I kept being woken up by the dulcet tones of his snoring, so am still feeling somewhat sleep deprived. We were supposed to be going to my DSis's today (Saturday) but I got an upset stomach so we stayed home instead. I won't complain though, as it meant the lawn got what will hopefully be the last cut of the season and some of the conifers got trimmed and topped as well. I helped out when I could and it was good to spend some time out there - despite feeling shattered when we'd done I also felt refreshed, clearer headed and my stomach had settled down nicely. Mother Nature working Her wonders once again. :0)

Tonight I decided to go for a new stitching start. No, not the Lorri Birmingham Seasons piece I mentioned previously (still looking for that elusive 28ct white banding for that) but it is another Lorri B design. Here's where I've got to with it:

Can you tell what it is yet? LOL Sorry about the blurry pic but I took three and they all turned out like that and it's just too much hassle to go do some more just now. I don't think it's down to my accidentally dunking the memory card in a hot cup of coffee on Friday (Oops!) because I've taken other pics since and they all came out OK. Will hopefully get a better one next time round, whenever I do an update. Meantime, in case you can't guess which design it is you can see what it looks like here. Cute, aren't they? :0)

DS is out at an LTC social evening tonight (Saturday), a meal at a local Chinese Restaurant - there are supposed to be about 45 of them going, so it should be a good night. Reckon they'll have filled the place! Tomorrow is Get In at the theatre for a Show he's stage manager for and DH will be helping with that. Not sure how long it will take but I reckon it'll be long enough for me to get some quiet stitching time in, carrying on with my new WIP. Just hope there's something decent on the TV..... if not I guess the relaxation CD's will be going on instead.

Well, between the sleep deprivation, feeling iffy with the stomach upset earlier, and the time spent outside gardening I am definitely well ready for my bed tonight, so I'm off.

Whatever you are all doing this weekend I hope you're having a great time. Thank you for visiting. :0)

Sea Stars and Other Things

A rather belated showing of this weeks Thursday Night SAL progress on Sea Stars - still, better late than never I guess!

The top small motif is stitched in Carrie's Country Blue and the lower in Solitude. If it hadn't been for an attack of the dreaded frog on the top motif, where I had to re-do the top half of it due to being a stitch out, the second motif would have been finished. I think it must have been the night for it, as Rosanne also had to frog some of her piece. Barb is on her holiday, so didn't stitch - I wonder if the frogs conspired together to make sure we didn't go racing too far ahead of her. :0)

DH had the day off on Friday. After breakfast he set to and put fresh silicone sealant all round the bathroom sink, tap and back of the vanity unit so hopefully making it all watertight again. It's ready for a wipe down and the stuff going back in there once he's cleared the clutter away. We then popped to Screwfix to pick up the new light and bulb for DSis's front bedroom, as she's finished all the painting and wallpapering now, then set off to Epworth to have dinner at The Lemon Tree Tea Room. It was a bit of a trip down memory lane, as Mum and Dad used to love meeting up with us there on a Sunday for a meal, a natter and a look round at everything. After that we called in at a shop to buy some flowers then set off for Rosehill. Once again the pathway that Mum's plaque is on was looking neglected, so we did a tidy up before putting some flowers in the little pot and putting her tag there. We then put some flowers in the pot at the monument where Mum and Dad's name plaque is, then put a rose near where Mum's ashes are and a little spray of carnations near Dad's ashes. It was drizzling with rain but still looked lovely and felt peaceful. We saw the big buck rabbit in the undergrowth again and a squirrel skittered down a tree, then scurried away when he saw us. For the first time ever a large dragonfly appeared and did a dancing flight around the area in front of where I was stood in the scattering area, twice flying towards me and then away - it was one of those special moments that has you glued to the spot with wonder. :0) When I glanced away and looked back it had gone. DH didn't see it at all.

By this time the drizzle was a bit more substantial, so we said our goodbyes and left, driving to The Outlet to see my DSis - she had to work, so couldn't go with us to Rosehill this time. We called in for a coffee and warm through/dry out and she was glad of the distraction - it wasn't very busy for a Friday and they were looking for things to do. Afterwards we did a little shopping. First stop was the book shop and there are always lots of interesting books in there at reduced prices so I got me a nice haul:

Thought it was about time I read about my own country's myths and legends and not just those from Ancient Greece and Egypt - the book is the size of a large doorstop, so it'll keep me quiet for a while. LOL The Ceremonies book doesn't just include Pagan celebrations but also includes information on those from other religions that are celebrated throughout the Wheel of the Year - it will be interesting to compare the differences/similarities between them. :0)

The Dream book is a more comprehensive one than the book I already have, as it covers the spiritual, as well as the emotional and every day, interpretation of dream symbology. I got the Rune book out of interest: I'm interested in and drawn to Runes but don't have a set (at the moment), although I do have three Tarot decks and a beautiful set of Angel cards. Thought I would read up about them first. I also bought two books about Churchill for DH, making six books in all, and the total was still just under £20 - that's what I call a bargain! After stash buying books are my next weakness/indulgence. ;0)

I looked round Whittard's but I couldn't decide on which coffee to buy, so didn't bother. Next was Julian Graves for some Tyrrel's Veg crisps and some herbal capsules. Then on to Camille's for some new underwear and nighties. That completed the haul so we popped to say goodbye to my DSis before heading home.

The day didn't end there though: we stopped off at one of the local pub restaurants on the outskirts of our town for a meal. I think DH decided I needed a bit more cheering up. :0) I must say the chicken and bacon salad I had was rather nice - though it would have been far tastier if they'd remembered to add the French Dressing it was supposed to have. Never mind: a sachet or two of mayonnaise remedied that. LOL

All in all it was a "funny" old day - bit of an emotional rollercoaster ride in some ways but it certainly ended on a positive note. I know Mum (and Dad) would have approved - they used to enjoy shopping trips and meals out. :0)

Many thanks for the kind comments, they're greatly appreciated. Hope you are all having a very good weekend. :0)

Seeing Stars?

No, not quite......... but you can see my first Thursday Night SAL WIP pic of Sea Stars by Ink Circles:

The colour isn't quite right but it will give you the general idea. Unfortunately the scanner has come out in sympathy with the printer....... it's also gone on the blink (it makes a couple of crunching noises and I get a pretty rainbow band across the middle of everything that is scanned) so I had to take a pic with the digicam in the evening with poor lighting and the flash going off.

The fabric is one of Jayne's own hand dyes (like a tropical sea) and is from one of my favourite colour ranges (the other being autumnal colours). Jayne also did all of the hard work by converting the colours to Carrie's Creations for me: the one I'm currently using is Antique Slate and that's the motif in the top left corner of the design.
Barb and Rosanne have made good starts too: all three of us are using quite different colours, so it's going to be fascinating watching the pieces develop each week. :0)

Last night was the first of a three night Most Haunted Live event which gave me a perfect excuse to sit and stitch in front of the TV for much of the evening (yeah, like I need an excuse! LOL). The project receiving some attention was the Ozark Mystery SAL. I started the first band a little earlier in the week, so completed that and went on to stitch all of the second band:

Again we could choose two out of six different band patterns to stitch with the two threads from the pack: Blueberry and Spring Green. I opted for the ribbon band, to slightly echo the scrolls in the border, and hoping it wouldn't end up looking like an epileptic tapeworm..... think it's avoided that. The top band was a no brainer: a thread with the name of Spring Green meant it had to be the leaves border. LOL I like how it's worked out to having alternate bands of nature motifs - that's happened more by pure luck than actual design. :0)

MH Live is on again tonight, so that'll be another evening of stitching, but am not sure yet which project to do. It's tempting to carry on with Sea Stars because it's a lovely stitch but, as it's a once-a-week SAL, it's a no-no. As I didn't do lots on Night Watchman earlier in the week that should probably be my focus......... another stitching session should make it worth doing a pic then. Guess I'll see what mood takes me later. LOL

Helen asked to see the crystal wand I mentioned in my previous post. I'll just point out that a crystal wand in no way resembles anything as seen in any of the Harry Potter movies, so I hope you're not going to be disappointed. ;0) Crystal wands are generally worked and polished lengths of crystal, usually no more than 6" long, which can have pointed ends (for focused use) or rounded ends (gentler). Some Pagans and Wiccans do use such crystals as wands, charging them with their intention so it enhances their spells, assisting them in achieving what they wish for, but I'm not into spellwork or heavy rituals and prefer to use mine for healing......... and sometimes just for pure decoration because they are naturally beautiful. :0)

The large piece at the top is a rose quartz point which I keep on my bedside cabinet - a gentle, loving, soothing crystal that helps with sleep (it's also the best crystal for soothing babies and children). Below that is a rutilated quartz point and to the right of that is (if I remember rightly) a smokey citrine (a bit of an unusual one that I can't find a listing for, but it's popular with healers) and both of those sit on my bedroom altar - I haven't worked properly with these yet, I mostly just enjoy looking at them. The rose quartz and fluorite wand is bottom right: not only has it the rounded ends but it also has a worked twist along it's length - this I have used and it worked wonders on my neck and shoulder and sleep! :0) The bottom left piece is a kyanite blade that is useful in meditation and is another piece I seem to have an instant reaction to when handling - sort of a quick swirling sensation, mildly disorientating, similar to what you get when you stand up too quickly. I guess it's a sign they are working. :0)

Apologies for the not very good pic - it's hard to catch the inner look of a crystal on a camera that isn't that great, especially when it's being used by an inexperienced photographer. Guess I could do better if I actually knew what I was doing, for a change! LOL

DS was up and out first thing this morning to take Alex to a hospital appointment and he hasn't put in an appearance since, so she must have fed him afterwards. DH and I were going to go out to a garden centre for dinner but changed our minds when we realised how warm it was today. Staying in has it's benefits: the lawn has been mown and the edges strimmed and a little weeding has been done and I've had time to blog. If he feels really enthusiastic we may even get a bit of conifer trimming done too. Tomorrow we are off to visit my DSis as I haven't seen her since about a week before we went on holiday......... it's been a while so there'll be loads to catch up on. :0)

Thank you for the kind comments on Guen. :0) It will be good to have her as my first HD in September............ the HD's have been few and far between in 2008, due to having quite a few BAP's on the go, so it's been nice to spread them through the year. ;0)

Many thanks for taking the time to visit and I hope you are all enjoying a happy weekend. :0)

No Rest For The Wicked?

Things have got marginally quieter here but not by much!

Sunday we did have a little lay-in but still had a few things to accomplish: DS cleared off first thing for his swimming trip with Alex and her kids saying something about "dinner at Alex's, Guild Room, mumble, mumble" on the way out the door, so we knew we'd probably not see him until tea time. We headed off to the Silica Lodge garden centre for our dinner and a look round: saw lots of nice pots from new ranges (didn't buy - no room to put any more yet) and was disappointed to realise they didn't have any lavender plants at all, let alone the new cotton wotsit ones.

As the weather was looking uncertain we decided to head for Homebase to have a look at the kitchens. That was a bit of a disappointment too: hardly any ranges and what was there was pretty basic, so we didn't hang around and headed off for a kitchen and bathroom showroom attached to Jackson & Shipley (a builders merchant). They were shut! So we shot off to B&Q to see what they had. Better! Nice Shaker style fronts in different wood effects and a better range of cupboard sizes, sinks, taps, worktops & electrical goods to go with - and they had catalogues we could take away with us. DH took pics of the beech fronts, worktops I liked, sink, hob and ovens available so we could upload them to the computer and play around with layouts and the like. Not sure I'm so keen on the build quality but at least we've got a better idea of what we do/don't like and what we'd like to fit into our kitchen.

After that we were thirsty, so we popped across to Stephen H Smith's garden centre across the road for a sit down, a warm drink and a shared scone from DH's cream tea - he was being a bad lad but I selflessly volunteered to help save him from some of those sugars and calories. ;0) LMAO. There was a new camping shop within the garden centre so we went for a nosey after and ended up buying two lightweight fold-up chairs which are ideal for both the back garden, taking on holiday or day trips out and in the caravan. DH got a slightly laid-back one with a head rest, for getting comfy in, and mine is more of a director's style so I can sit up comfortably and stitch. Of course I couldn't leave there without visiting the craft shop and I came away with this little haul:

Those small coloured squares bottom left are envelopes for some of the recent cards I made. No stitching done - too shattered! We sat and watched the Stardust DVD - lots of laughs in that and it was especially fascinating seeing Robert De Nero play a gay, cross-dressing pirate! LOL Here are pics of a couple more cards I made during my recent cardmaking session instead:

Monday DH was back to work for a rest LOL. I got on with my regular jobs, ready for Alex coming round in the afternoon, getting quite a bit done. Didn't find time for blogging, though I did manage to use the digicam, upload some pics to the computer and learnt how to crop them and the like. One of the pics is of Ink Circles Blackstone Fantasy Garden that I completed last July - I'm not sure how good the pic is, as I'm learning as I go along here, but thought I'd try posting and see how it goes. So, Helen, just for you:

Must say this was an absolute joy to stitch - hope you're doing well with yours. I'd love to see a WIP pic at some stage, as I'm curious to see the CC threads you subbed instead. :0)

Last night I did a little stitching on Night Watchman, so may post a pic next time as it's looking more like it's grown now.

Today I'm having a quiet day: the past few days busyness have taken their toll somewhat and I've got a few aches and pains and a niggling headache. Gave me a good excuse to sit and watch Dawn Bibby's session on QVC this afternoon - not that I needed much of one! LOL.

Received Part 4 of the Memories SAL last night and I've printed that out today but I think the printer must need a new ink cartridge because it's got some weird and wonderful colours on it! Won't start that just yet though: it's UFO Tuesday today (is it just me, or has that come round flippin' quick?) so ET and that ruddy metallic thread are coming out to play tonight........ for as long as I can stand it. DH and DS will be out, so at least they won't have to listen to me muttering away to myself and there's a Most Haunted on to keep me company. Yay!

Hope you all had a good weekend - hopefully I'll catch up with all your news in the next few days. Lynn: sorry but my computer still isn't keen on your blog and I don't know why. I can read it via Bloglines but am unable to leave comments. :0( Just wanted you to know I've been thinking of you (((((((((hugs))))))))).

Thank you to all for visiting and for the kind comments - hope my wafflings don't bore you too much. ;0)