Guess Whooooo?

No I haven't fallen off the planet.... not due to the shock of turning 48 or any other reason LOL, I just got busy getting things organised for our holiday, which didn't leave me much time for other things...... especially when my two feel it's perfectly OK to just chuck everything into the case or the back of the car at the very last minute. I was well ready for that holiday by the time the packing was done, let me tell you.

In between updating the packing list, washing and drying a mountain of clothes (they will insist on getting stuff dirty!), sorting a stack of ironing for DH (bless him, that's one chore he likes to do that I don't - it literally gives me a pain in the neck), unearthing all the walking gear from various places and other suchlike jobs I did manage to do a little stitching. Well, actually, I managed it a few weeks prior to going away, on UFO Tuesday, and didn't get around to posting an update. So here's where the handsome fella got to before the holiday packing got underway:


I decided to fill in the other corner so it would define the working area and give a definite goal to work towards. He didn't make it out of the bag again but Mr Stick didn't chase me, as I had permission to go awol due to some perfectly valid excuses: it was mine and DH's 25th Wedding Anniversary on the 14th, followed by our 2 week holiday. Yes 25 years and another milestone event in our lives. Whoda thunk we'd make it this far,eh? LOL We didn't do much, just had a take-out curry, as we decided to go out for a special meal to celebrate whilst on our holiday. :0)

Our anniversary may have been a bit of a damp squib but my birthday excitement continued a little longer when I received another rather pretty package, this one from Clare:


Here's what was inside the envelope and packages:


One of Clare's lovely handmade decoupage cards and an amethyst bead fob (my favourite gemstone) and some perle threads and Silkweaver fabric in the prettiest colours. Thank you again Clare for the lovely card and gifts - I love them and shall enjoy using everything. :0)

Then a second envelope from Clare revealed these fab cross stitch charts:


Plus some blackwork charts:


I do love wildlife and nature and blackwork and the charts made her think of me. How nice is that? Thank you again for your generosity Clare. :0)

Yet more nice post arrived.... this time from Julie, in the form of a book that she very kindly sent on to me:


Thanks again Julie. :0) It went straight from the envelope into my bag for my holiday read. I'd decided taking a Barbara Erskine with me was a bad idea when we were going to be staying in an old cottage - far too spooky! Good decision, as it was a really good book........ so good it didn't last out the fortnight! LOL You can find out more in my side bar or over at The Reading Corner blog, if you're interested.

I also squeezed in a little more stitching before going away and managed to complete the first part of the JA/S&S Forum's Hardanger Bookmark SAL that is being run by Clare. Here's the pic to prove it:


That's one of the very few deadlines I actually managed to beat during July. Yay! The second part is now out, so I need to extract my digit and start applying a needle to this soon so I get to meet an August deadline too.

My niece's birthday was due while we were going to be away so the cardmaking goodies came out. Yes, I got all super-efficient and made a card and posted it early. Here's what I made for her this year:


She's definitely a pink girl so she should have liked it. There was also another birthday girl who's day was due during our holiday: Julie, and here's the card I made for her:

Another one I was really pleased with and enjoyed making. I also stitched a little something..... but I shall put that in another post. :0)

We then went off on our two-weeks holiday to the Lake District, where we stayed in a lovely cottage in Chapel Stile village in the Great Langdale Valley. As this is already a long post I shall do a separate post about that too.

Thank you for visiting and for all the lovely comments. I shall be having a catch up with you all in the coming week. :0)

Plugging Away......

Yep, that's what it feels like at the minute....... plugging away at Night Watchman and not seeming to get very far. I'm sure something has affected the laws of physics because progress actually seems to be slowing down the nearer it gets to a HD. The physicists really need to factor in this new phenomenon to the laws of the Universe and call it The Stitcher's Law! LOL

Mind, I don't think it helped that I zipped about a little in butterfly mode, stitching a little in one area then going over to stitch in another........ then another. There are a lot of colour changes in this section of the tree so that slows things up a little too........ and I'm just plain ole impatient to see the end and achieve that HD. LOL So here's where things stand at the moment:

I can't afford to spend any more time on this each week though as the Christmas Wishes SAL started on 1st June and I need to make a start on that. Plus the needleroll still needs sewing up: got the stitches removed and the top and bottom edges hemmed, just sewing it together to make a roll and some stuffing now needed. Must get on with this as I'd love to show you all something new. :0)

The card making goodies put in a quick appearance yesterday but I can't show you the card I made as it's currently on it's way to it's new home and the recipient reads my blog. Will share a pic when it's arrived.

As for the mega clear out session: I'm still plugging away at that too. A big bag full of bubble wrap bags went to help out an eBayer earlier in the week; yesterday a big tub full of plastic pegs went to a Mum with two kids and a baby on the way (she knows a lot about laundry then! LOL); a bag of toiletries is being collected by someone tonight and a guitar shaped CD rack DS no longer wants is being picked up tomorrow some time...... and I've just put up an ad for some stiff card envelopes I found in a bag yesterday. Don't you just love Freecycle? All those things gone/going with the minimum of effort. Sweet!

I've also started going through the books that are in the living room, on a big shelf and a bookcase in one of the alcoves, and found some knitting books I thought had already been ousted...... I took a bag of those down to the Hospice Bookshop when I popped down the street earlier in the day. I'll be going through the rest of the books this afternoon..... and I plan on being pretty ruthless too - especially as there are feral dust bunnies up on that shelf that need some serious taming. ;0)

So what was I doing down the street, apart from ousting those books? Well Jan had asked me to pop into the Clinic some time on Wednesday or Thursday to have a quick chat about my tablets, to decide about possibly taking me off one lot and putting me back on some others, to start tackling the gut problem again. After I mentioned that we were going away at the end of July she decided to leave it until I come back, especially as I was feeling so balanced, health wise, at the moment. I told her how much I'd enjoyed the Angel Workshop and that I felt I'd got a lot out of it and went on to tell her about the Mind, Body and Spirit event and some of the happenings there (more on my other blog about that). I asked her how things had gone at the Messingham Show, where she'd had a stand on Sunday: they'd handed out 150 information packs on the day so were now waiting to see if it brought in any new clients. Since Il Sorriso closed Jan has been displaying placards and posters in the empty shop window and it's prompted a few new folks to walk in or take details and phone later to book appointments for various treatments, so the extra publicity does help.

When I'd stocked up on some items I needed I thanked her and left and carried on down the street to post a package and do a little shopping - the street was pretty busy, it being market day, but that didn't bother me particularly. As I'd just come out of Tesco Express I spotted my DS, in his Mini, just pulling into the car park - what's the odds on that happening? Unfortunately he wasn't heading home afterwards so I couldn't cadge a lift with my heavy bags. Oh well..... the exercise will have done me good. LOL Since getting home I've had a session in the front garden pulling up the seeding bluebells and doing a little weeding....... until my back started to complain and it felt like I was going to see my lunch again. Guess I should have waited a little longer after eating before tackling that job - you live and learn! LOL And now the book sorting calls so I'm away....

Thank you for the lovely comments on the ornies, they are greatly appreciated. Hope you are all having a lovely week and getting lots done. :0)

Pottering Around

That's what I've been doing since getting back: pottering around doing this, that and the other. That pottering involved catching up with all the laundry and other such boring but necessary household jobs - virtuous housewife I'm definitely not but I do like to try and keep it reasonable. No, we didn't come back to a pig sty - DS does wash pots, do the occasional bit of laundry and some tidying whilst we're away - but the Dyson never makes it out of the cupboard and neither do such things like Cillit Bang and bleach or Harpic and loo brush. Thrill a minute, ain't it? ;0)

It hasn't all been the boring stuff though, as I've also been making up for lost time in the crafts and blog reading departments since getting home. The first thing I did was make this card:

The pics are wombled from another of the lovely note cards that Barb (no blog) sent to me, as they are just too pretty not to use them again. I'll add wording to the front (maybe) once I've decided who it's going to and for what occasion.

I've also been making up three small ornies that I finished stitching before my holiday. Two are fully done and there's just the edging to do on the third, then I can post them off. I shall show pics of them when they are all completed. :0)

The blog reading catch-up took a few days but I got there in the end. Boy, were you all busy while I was away! It was lovely to see all the gorgeous pieces every one has been stitching, congratulate some HD's and read all the news.

Then I've been trying to make up for the lack of holiday stitching by giving Night Watchman a two-night outing this week...... it was good to get back to him again. So, without further ado, here is the handsome fella:

Is it just me, or does it seem to be taking ages for this last section to fill up? I sat and stitched for at least a couple of hours both evenings but it just doesn't seem to have grown that much...... or is it that a HD is getting so close a hint of impatience is creeping in? ;0)

I'd planned on making a start on the biscornu for the JA/S&S Forum's May Challenge earlier in the week but it didn't happen - in typical airhead fashion I keep changing my mind about which one to stitch! It's not helped that I still have a needleroll (a first) to do for Challenge for a Finish as well and am in a slight "Oh, cr*p, I'm running out of time" panic. I really need to get my Hi-Fi fixed so I can listen to those chill out CD's again because chamomile tea alone just isn't quite cutting it! LOL I had a root through my stash earlier today and found several needleroll charts I'd forgotten were there and one little beauty that is not only fully kitted up but is also a fairly simple stitch, so shouldn't take long to do. Yay - one thing just got easier! I may just toss a coin to decide on the biscornu. LOL

I think some of the problem is that the current read, another Barbara Erskine book, is really starting to build up now....... and I want to know what happens next........ and I've started picking it up at times when stitching would normally get done. Or the bedtime reading session ends up going on until the early hours which means a lie-in is needed, to make up for the lost sleep........ which means continually chasing after myself through the rest of the day as I play catch up. Good job I space these books out or I'd never get anything else done. LOL

There's also been a few nice weather breaks........ yes, that bright yellow thing in the sky has been putting in an appearance between the rain showers and it's been warm enough to tempt me out into the garden. I've decided discretion is the better part of valour as far as the triffids at the bottom of the garden are concerned and am leaving them to their own devices - if they want to take over the world then who am I to stand in their way? Especially as they have nasty sharp bits all over them. LOL The less aggressive areas have been getting a bit of attention instead, though you'd be hard pressed to tell exactly which bits they are as I don't seem to have made much of an impression on them. Still, the sun and fresh air worked their usual magic on me so it was worth it just for that. :0)

Friday sees DH off to the GP for his diabetic eye test, then to work, then back to the GP in the afternoon for his foot check, then to the hospital for an x-ray on his hand (to check out what's going on as he keeps getting some pain from it)....... he really knows how to pack things into a day! Fingers crossed all goes well and everything is OK.

DS will be out tomorrow night: he sets up, runs, then packs away the equipment at a monthly film night that's held in one of the local villages. He quite enjoys doing it..... except for last month when the film was The Duchess. LMAO Not sure what the film is this month but he hasn't been grumbling, so guess it's one he won't mind watching. LOL

Well that's about all that's been happening here and that biscornu and needleroll aren't going to stitch themselves, so I'd best be off.

Thank you for taking the time to visit and for all the lovely comments you leave - I really appreciate every single one. Hope newbies to my blog will say Hi too. :0)

Reading, Stitching and TTFN

Well that strimming didn't get done on BH Monday: by the time we'd had dinner at Uncle Henry's, did some shopping there, at the Pink Pig and Tesco Express, and went home and put it all away the rain had started. I don't reckon DH was all that upset by the change of plans though. LOL We did a few things around the house instead, then chilled.

Tuesday was a catch up on jobs day, doing a lot of the things I usually do on the Monday but didn't get done because we were out and about instead. There was also a little stitching on the cards for me, which meant the third of three small pieces was completed in the afternoon and more stitching done on NW in the evening. Afternoon stitching is a bit of a rarity for me these days but I really wanted to get the small pieces done before the holiday packing started in earnest...... though the finishing will have to wait until I get back now, as I haven't been able to fit it in. Too much laundry and other such boring things to sort out! Will show pics when they are completed and been received. Again, I didn't feel like I achieved a great lot on the handsome fella, so stitched on him again Wednesday evening. This is what he looks like now:


He's now all packed, ready to come on his holidays with us, so fingers crossed I manage to pick him up at some point during the week....... that HD is so close now I'm keen to get him done. :0)

On Wednesday morning I had a trip down the local High Street for a consult with Jan, my Herbalist. It turned into a longer than usual session as I was finally able to talk to her fully about what happened to my Mum and Dad, an emotional and cathartic experience for me, and useful for Jan, as it gives her a fuller insight into what is going on in my head/emotionally and will help her to further develop the ideal treatment for me. There's more over at my other blog.

After the consult I had a trip further down the street to do a little shopping and also checked out the books in Help the Aged and didn't come out empty-handed, of course. This was my haul this time:


Both were under a £1 each, so a real bargain. I did take out The Last Templar as an audio book some time ago but the cassettes were getting old and had an annoying echo, so I gave up on them before getting to the end of the story - now I can find out what happens! LOL Unfortunately I was quite loaded up by the time I got towards the top end of the High Street, so decided not to call in at the Hospice Bookshop....... probably a good job as we'll be having a trawl of the charity shops whilst on holiday, so am guaranteed of a good book haul then, judging by last years standards. ;0)

DH and I will be going off on our holiday tomorrow afternoon, to Rural Roosts again. Not far to travel at all but so far out in the countryside it's like a different world: all bird and wildlife and no traffic, apart from the cars of the folks staying in the lodges and the very occasional farm vehicle. Bliss! It also means no internet, which means I'll not be blogging again until after we get back, so will have a catch up with everyone's news then. We're leaving DS to house sit, as the Carpe Jugulum production he's got a role in starts either Monday or Tuesday, so he's unable to come with us...... we'll be coming back, with my DSis, on Wednesday night to see the performance though. Can't miss seeing him playing a vampire, can we? LOL

Rachael: the book is yours and you're not cheeky at all. If you don't ask you don't get, do you? :0) Just make sure you remind me though - brain = sieve overload going on here at the mo. I love holidays but so hate the hassle of trying to remember to pack everything we need!

For those folks who are running in a Race For Life event this weekend, as I won't be around/online after Friday: I wish you lots of Luck - hope the weather is kind, you have a great day and you make lots of money for Cancer Research. :0)

Thank you for taking the time to visit. Be good while I'm gone. LOL :0)

Long Time No See

Realisation has hit today that the last time an update on Night Watchman was posted was way back in March! Oops! In case you'd like to remind yourselves of how he looked back then please check here. Just in case Julie was wondering if she should send round Mr Stick to get on my case I'll just point out that I have done some UFO Night stitching..... just keep getting distracted and forgetting to post the pics. So, here is a progress pic from earlier in April (sorry, can't remember when exactly):


In case you were wondering where the progress is.... I concentrated on the light patch on the tree, below and to the side of his tail. I'll fess up that I had all good intentions of stitching on him again but never actually managed to do so on a couple of Tuesday's - the time seemed to be getting away from me and I needed to get Challenge pieces and an ornie stitched. I did stitch on him again this week, for two nights, on the left side..... though didn't seem to make a huge amount of progress:

For some reason the stitching on this just isn't flowing properly at the moment, so it's not as enjoyable as it usually is and not much seems to get done - though any progress is good. Reckon it could be me in pre-holiday wind down mode. LOL

My April ornie for the Christmas Ornie SAL is stitched but the finishing still needs doing. Have decided I need to expand my horizons a tad and try a couple of different styles of finishing because, although I like pinkeep and basic pillow finishes, I don't want those to be the only style of ornies on my tree. I've been looking for a tutorial on what I'd like to try and finally found something similar....... so watch this space. Just need the finishing mood to kick in now. :0)

In the meantime the cardmaking mood remained so I made three more cards on Wednesday afternoon, after my trip down the street to the Clinic to see Jan (will probably do a small post on my other blog about that - there are other recent news updates on there already, if anyone's interested). Here are the dinky cards made:

I will add appropriate wording to it before sending it. Already have this in mind for someone. :0)

The pic on this one was wombled from a Christmas card:

There are actually chalked snowflakes on the background but the camera hasn't picked those up for some reason. Then one that used some bits from the Let's Make Cards! pack I used to make the last lot of cards:

Once again the flippin' digicam has objected to doing close ups. Think we'll have to look around for a better quality one that can cope! Although the first priority is sorting out my dinky little Hi-Fi..... the darned thing has suddenly started giving a "No disc" message when there is definitely a CD in there, so I can't have my favourite relaxation music on when working in the kitchen. Am hoping it's still under warranty - just waiting for DH to dig out the receipt, to check - if it is it's going back.

The recent nice weather has tempted me out into the garden a time or three during this week, so card and stitching production has reduced accordingly. It's been so refreshing though, to mind and soul, that I can't begrudge the time. :0) Last night DH and I sat out for a while just chillin' when we spotted a bat swooping round, presumably snacking on the rampant insect life that was also out and about - we've seen one in the evenings for years now, so it must live pretty close by. Then today I was rewarded by the sight of butterflies swirling around in a dizzying duet of pirouettes that was just too quick for me to capture with the digicam. I couldn't decide if it was a courtship dance or a duel - either way after almost 10 minutes they finally decided they'd had enough and flew off to different bits of the garden for a rest..... and I finally managed to catch one of them settled on the grass:

Isn't it pretty? Anyone know what it's called? Keep thinking Comma but not sure. Am hoping that, whatever they're called, they'll be frequent visitors this year. :0)

Am looking forward to the weekend. Got a bit of shopping to do tomorrow morning and am also hoping we can get back to Jackson & Shipley to finally speak to the kitchen designer and on Sunday - the day I'm really excited about - we're going to the Holistic Health Fair that Jan, my Herbalist, has organised as a fundraiser for the Samaritans. There's lots of stalls and several workshops I'm interested in going to, as well as bellydancing displays...... yes, bellydancing...... and the lady who runs that also runs workshops, so I'm going to get more info on those! Reckon DH won't mind viewing that display but he'll probably head for the bar while I'm at the workshops. LOL I'll be doing a write up about that day on my other blog. :0)

So, whatever you are all doing this weekend..... have a great one and thank you for visiting. :0)

Something Old, Something New

The something old is the latest update on the ongoing UFO Night project, the handsome fella. This week I really got into this piece and actually did three nights stitching on it and here's where he's at now:

Still a reasonable amount left to do but that HD is getting so much closer! I want that new start finishing this will enable me to have! LOL There are plenty of candidates waiting in the wings for their turn, too........ what shall the new project be? Don't you just love that anticipation? :0)

As for other projects: I've got the final bit of finishing to do on this month's Christmas Ornie, then I can add it to the album and post a pic here. Talk about scraping in at the last minute! I'm still stitching the piece to turn into a scissor case for Challenge for a Finish but that looks like it might come in overdue - I keep prevaricating and it's because that scissor case is a first and I keep bottling it. Yes, I joined because I wanted a push to try new types of finishing but it still comes hard when I know my other sewing skills aren't up to a decent standard - it's just awful when you've taken time to stitch a really nice piece then go ahead and ruin it with naff finishing! If the Adult Education folk hadn't pared down the craft courses available to an absolute minimum I'd go join a sewing class to learn some useful basics and boost my confidence that way.......... it would be nice to get out my sewing machine and not be afraid of the darned thing! LOL

DH booked a couple of days off work and had Thursday and Friday off. No, not from some romantic notion of spending some extra time with his missus - he was going to a full dress dinner over in Grimsby on Thursday night and wanted the extra time so he didn't have to rush to get ready and over there on Thursday and so he wouldn't have to go into work on Friday. You know.... should he need some recuperation time. ;0) Actually he was quite well behaved: though he wasn't exactly sober he didn't come home rat-faced either, so there were no after effects at all other than him being tired. Lesson learned, shall we say? Eheheh.

The something new was the arrival on Friday of the final few bits from my last Thread Bear order:

A couple more finishing braids, some gorgeous buttons that will be ideal for ornies or biscornus and a blackwork kit I just couldn't resist - I love blackwork and it'll be ideal for one of the monthly Christmas ornies. Looks like I'll be getting more practice at a heart-shaped finish then, doesn't it? LOL

Today (Saturday) has seen more windy weather, bitter cold and alternate hail and rain showers - not nice at all. Despite wanting to do the hedgehog thing and hibernate we had to venture out. DS was up and out first thing to Brigg Farmers Market with Alex whilst DH and I had our own plans. First we went to Jackson and Shipley, though not to the DIY bit: we went to the next door showroom to have a look at the kitchens they do in there - more bits are dropping off our old one, so it's going to have to be done soon . A certain well-known DIY place hadn't impressed us much when they were doing the bathroom quote for my DSis... or should I say quotes, as each time she spoke to them the price went up. Not by a few quid either - by around a £100 each time....... which is why she told them thanks but no thanks and why we won't now use them. We saw a really nice set of units in there that we both liked and a chat to one of the staff had us both reasonably impressed with the service they offer. We came away with a brochure to look through and get a better idea of what we'd like - once that's firmed up and some measurements taken we should be off back again to have another natter and see about having the designer round. If redundancy is on the cards for DH it would be nice to get this big job done, paid for and out of the way before it happens.

Next we went to Uncle Henry's Farm Shop where we had dinner. Only I left DH to order didn't I, so the ham salad and small jacket I wanted came with both potato salad and coleslaw on it - neither of which I'm allowed to eat. It also had a huge jacket potato when I wanted a small one. Guess who had not only his own jacket potato with beans and coleslaw but also my potato salad, coleslaw and half a jacket potato? Yep, he did - makes you kinda wonder if the gannet did it on purpose, doesn't it? ;0) I'll be ordering my own food from now on though - that way I'll end up with more things I am allowed to eat on my plate. Once we'd eaten I popped one of my Book Crossing books (Astraea) into the separate comfy sitting area (I'd gone prepared) - this time I tried a slightly different tack and stuck a yellow Post-It on the front explaining why the book was there, so I hope this one gets picked up quicker than the previous wild releases I've made. We then did our shopping and when we paid we got a £5.00 off voucher for our next visit, thanks to the loyalty scheme they do - plus two stamps on our next card, to start saving towards another voucher. Don't you just love those loyalty schemes? :0)

After that we called in at the Pink Pig to pick up a few things we couldn't get at Uncle Henry's. It wasn't until we saw some signs up that we realised it was their WWII re-enactment weekend, so it was rather busy despite the lousy weather. When we'd done the shopping I grabbed another of my Book Crossing books (Ingo) and headed for the Cafe. In there they have a shelf of books that are available for folks to read but with a couple of provisos: if you want one of the books on the shelf you have to take in a book to replace it and pop 50p in the Hospice charity box. I spotted it last time we were in there and thought what a great idea for raising funds for the Hospice and a nice way of sharing books......... and what a great place to leave a BC book! LOL Here's what I found on the shelf and brought home with me:

Julie: if you haven't got this one let me know and I'll send it on to you when I've read it. Giving you first refusal with letting you down over Lady of Hay. :0)

No idea what the plans are for tomorrow yet - guess it's dependant on the weather and how brave (or not) we're feeling - but I do know we're having roast chicken for dinner, as DH got it out of the freezer earlier. LOL Am sure I shall find time to fit some stitching in along the way though, whatever we do.

Thank you for visiting and all the lovely comment, which are very much appreciated. Hope you're all staying warm and cosy! :0)

The Handsome Fella

Yes, the little fella came out again for two more nights of stitching last week and they saw me slowly working away at all the background below him. Here's where I left off:

He's getting there, slowly but surely - fingers crossed for a HD some time next month. :0)

As it was Mother's Day (in the UK) on Sunday I also got my cardmaking goodies out last week to make the tag that I like to put by Mum's plaque at Rosehill, when we visit to take flowers. With all the new growth in the garden and the reasonable weather we've been having lately I was definitely in a Spring mood this time round. Here's what I made:


The visit was a rather blustery one but, once again, the whole Cemetery was looking beautiful with all the new Spring growth and floral tributes. The only niggle was having to go searching for a pot to put Mum's flowers in - the one we used last time had disappeared and there were very few about, as it looks like the local metal thieves had been to call. Reckon they've built up some bad Karma with that rather spiteful theft!

There isn't a Sea Stars update this time round. Unfortunately everything I stitched on it last Thursday night (quite a bit) will have to be frogged - one stitch out again! It's the second time it's happened on the big motif but the umpteenth time it's happened with the whole piece so I'm rather fed-up with it at the minute. I've decided to put it to one side for a couple of weeks in the hopes that a short break will help. I still love the design and do want to finish it, so am not abandoning it altogether - just having a break that will allow me to get on with a couple of other projects I want to do then, hopefully, come back to it with renewed enthusiasm. :0)

Friday was my delayed appointment with Jan, the Herbalist. We had a good natter after we'd covered all the health stuff and discovered we have more in common than we'd previously realised. All I can say is that I am so looking forward to the up and coming move to her new home: it has an annexe that will be used as a Clinic, plus the move will see the development of the Spiritual aspect she's wanted. There'll be lots of interesting workshops coming up, which can't currently run in the Ashby place, as it's too small. I'll post more about this visit, and what else happened, on my other blog some time this week.

Saturday and DH rang the holiday place and booked the cottage we wanted in Chapel Stile, so that's all sorted now. Yay! Mid-morning it was time for my monthly Reiki treatment with Aureen. It went very well once again, though I came away feeling tired this time, rather than buzzing with energy. Will post more about this on my other blog too. Afterwards DH met me in Il Sorriso, where we had dinner (they do a rather nice ham salad), then we called in at one of the flower shops where I bought some freesias to take to Rosehill on Sunday - they were Mum's favourite flowers. As I was feeling tired we didn't have the planned trip to Uncle Henry's to shop - instead, DH used the time to do an oil change on DS's Mini and I sat and did the finishing on the JA/S&S Monthly Challenge piece (will show a pic after Reveal Day) whilst desperately trying hard not to fall asleep. I slept rather well that night! LOL

Sunday we were up early to have our trip over to Doncaster. I got a card from DS before we left and my gift of The Duchess DVD is on its way from Amazon. We picked up my DSis first, visited Rosehill then went back to hers for dinner. In the afternoon DH did some work on the shed for her, to make it a little more secure. We had quite a good natter too. We came home a little earlier as all three of us were tired. The journey home got a little interesting at one point though, when we speed-bumped some roadkill - DH was on dipped headlights at the time, due to oncoming traffic, so didn't see it early enough to avoid it and swerving wasn't an option due to said traffic. Result: two rather nasty sounding thumps and two lurches as the front then back wheels went over it. Not nice! The only thing that made us feel slightly better about it was the fact that the poor thing, whatever it was, was already dead. It was a while before our heart rates returned to normal after that! Thankfully there's no sign of damage to the car.

When we arrived home there was a blue bag sat waiting on my chair and inside were these two potted plants from DS:

Aren't they lovely? Unfortunately my naff picture doesn't really do them justice. The blue flowers are a couple of shades darker than shown. They are currently sitting in the back porch, waiting for some decent weather so they can go outside - I plan on planting them out, when they've done flowering, and hope they'll keep on flowering every year. :0)

Today has been my jobs day and Alex has been for her usual drink and a natter. The rehearsal's for Carpe are gathering momentum now so she and DS are back and forth to those. They're both having to learn to speak their lines whilst wearing a set of vampire teeth - apparently it's quite a knack to speak without spitting all over the person they're facing! So looking forward to watching the performance in May. :0)

Tonight I plan on carrying on with stitching the piece for Challenge for a Finish. Am very happy with the colours chosen (without input from anyone else!) - let's just hope I can actually turn it into a half decent scissor case once it's stitched! LOL Am hoping that tomorrow I will get the finishing done on this month's Christmas ornie, then there'll be something new to show you. :0)

Thank you again for taking the time to visit and for all those lovely comments. Hope you all had an enjoyable weekend and a quiet start to the week. :0)

Here We Are Again....

Another week and another stitching session on the cute fella. It didn't feel like I'd achieved much on Tuesday night so carried on and had an extra session on him yesterday (Wednesday) too. So here's what he looks like now:

No longer looking like he's super-glued to the side of the tree but firmly sat on a branch...... and he's also got his tail feathers too. So it's all background filling from now on. Julie may have to send Mr Stick round to keep me motivated with that as there's still quite a bit of it to go. LOL

Yesterday I didn't get any more of the Monthly Challenge piece stitched after all, despite all good intentions. There was a distraction: I got busy looking round some web sites for a cottage to hire for our family holiday this year. Yes, DS has decided he wants to come with us again so, taking that and his commitments into account, it means the best weeks to suit are the last two in July. So much for going earlier or later to avoid the school holidays but at least it shouldn't be quite as frantic as August tends to be (she says, crossing her fingers!). It looks like the preferred option is the Langdale Valley again so I'm trying to find a place in or near to Chapel Stile so it's easier to walk to the facilities - pub, Co-Op shop, pub, cafe.... Oh, and did I mention the pub? ROFL The whole emphasis being on walking to them, rather than having to get in the car to do that, as we had to last year - that caravan site was just too far away from anything, especially so when you've got a gammy knee!

Inspiration still hasn't struck for the ornie finishing or for the cards DS has asked me to make, so there's nothing to show you there yet. Last night we enjoyed the beef and veg stew I cooked. I'd added a little finely chopped fresh ginger this time around, for a change - it was tasty but think I prefer it with paprika or a little cayenne pepper. Tonight DS is cooking and it's tuna steaks with rice and stir-fry veggies and, as it's Thursday, I'll be stitching on Sea Stars this evening. Hope that ruddy frog stays well clear this time!!!

Thank you for visiting and the lovely comments. Hope you're all enjoying lots of lovely frog-free stitchy time. :0)

A Catch Up

Things have got away from me a little this week, due to one thing and another, so thought it was time for a bit of a catch up post.

I got around to ordering the fabric I needed for the silver wedding anniversary piece I want to stitch, from Sew & So, and decided to go with the recommendation from Christine:


The vintage peach on the left is for the anniversary piece - many thanks for suggesting this Christine, as you made me think outside of the box and go for a colour I wouldn't have thought of. :0) As you can see a couple of other fabrics fell into my basket at the same time. ;0) Thought it was about time to try some 36ct stitching and got the Sand fabric in the middle for that and I've been looking for a piece of blue fabric for a specific project for some time and the Vintage one is spot on. Service from Sew & So was, as usual, prompt and efficient - ordered it one day and it was here the next. :0)

Last weekend DH and I were out and about a fair bit: shopping first at Uncle Henry's for some meat and other items. Next we stopped off at Morrison's supermarket, did a small amount of food shopping, bought a saucepan (to replace one I killed last week when I forgot I'd put a pan of cooking apples on to stew - oops! The darned stuff won't come off no matter how much elbow grease is applied!). We also picked up what we'd specifically gone there for:

Looks a bit like something out of War of the Worlds, doesn't it? LOL I've wanted one of these lap desk arrangements for ages but had only seen them in craft catalogues before at between £30 to £40 a time and hadn't been willing to pay that amount of money. Morrison's has these in for just £10 each - couldn't believe it when I saw them in the leaflet and when I showed DH he made sure we called in to get one. Well, actually, we bought two - he was so impressed with them he decided it was a good idea to get one for himself too. Not only is it very useful........ it also keeps your lap nice and warm too! :0) After Morrison's we then went on to the Pink Pig for a drink (camomile tea for me and tea for him) and to get a few more food items we needed, then home to put everything away. DS had been to Brigg Farmers Market that morning so the fridge and freezer are now well stocked for the month.

Sunday DS was out for much of the day, part of it being spent at the LTC Guild Room at a reading: this is to narrow down which production/s they want to put on after Carpe Jugulum. DH went off to help out at a Get In at the theatre for a local amateur operatic group - they are doing Carousel and he was curious as to how they were staging it. I had a quiet day at home - much needed after Saturday's busyness - and did some reading, spent some time on the computer and did some stitching.

Monday was my usual busy jobs day with a visit from Alex later on. The evenings have had DS out, mostly at rehearsals for Carpe, and DH had a couple of Governor's meetings too....... so I've been in charge of the TV remote a little more than usual and have managed a reasonable amount of stitchy time. Some of that stitchy time was spent on Night Watchman so I'd best show you those promised updates, hadn't I? This first one is of the progress made for last weeks UFO Night and an extra few hours thrown in:

Just to show Julie and Mr Stick that, although I forgot to post a pic on the forum, I did actually take part. :0)

In between I also stitched on Sea Stars (will show updates after tonights stitching) and completed a small item..... but I can't show you that yet as it's got to go off to a new home first. I've got as far as printing out the charts for the pieces I'm stitching for the JA/S&S Monthly Challenge and Monthly Christmas Ornie SAL and for Challenge for a Finish scissor case, though haven't started any of them yet. Many thanks for the suggestions for the scissor case, girls - much appreciated. I won't be telling which design I chose though, as it'll spoil the surprise, so you'll have to be patient and wait for Reveal Day. LOL This week I also finished the book Atlantis by David Gibbins - more info about that in the side bar and over at The Reading Corner blog, if you're interested. I started reading another Barbara Erskine last night, Whispers in the Sand, and it's proving to be another good read.

Night Watchman also came out for more attention this week and, once again, I stitched on him Wednesday night as well as on UFO Night and this is where he's at now:

Although I'm really enjoying stitching on him he's going to have to go away now until next Tuesday, as I really need to get on with Sea Stars tonight, then make a start on the smalls stitching for the Challenges. That's providing my head can cope as I'm still getting over a migraine that began early this afternoon - one of those horrible full on visual disturbance jobs that made me feel like I was going blind. I haven't had one of those in years so am not a happy bunny, as I thought they'd gone for good - am now left wondering what on earth happened to cause it, so I can avoid it in future, but haven't really got a clue. Thankfully taking a couple of Ibuprofen and laying on my bed in a darkened bedroom relieved the visual disturbances within a couple of hours but have been left with a somewhat fragile brain - no loud noises allowed! LOL

Well if I'm going to make any kind of an attempt at stitching on Sea Stars I'd best go and get on with it.

Thank you for taking the time to visit and for all your kind comments. Hope you're all staying warm and cosy in the current cold snap. :0)

I Don't Believe It!

No, I'm not doing the Victor Meldrew, grumpy old fart bit today.......... I'm just left absolutely gobsmacked by the generosity and kindness of Barb (no blog). I've received another surprise gift from her of these lovely goodies:

I've just realised the Special Friend ribbon was upside down. Doh! Aren't they brilliant? I love everything and can't thank you enough for gifting these to me Barb (((((hugs))))). The generosity of online stitchy friends never ceases to amaze me - what a fantastic group of people you all are! :0)

Tuesday UFO Night was time for Night Watchman to come out to play again, with a little more being done on Wednesday night too - though the sleep deprivation was kicking in by then so it was a struggle to concentrate. Here's where I left off:

Thought it was about time that branch was worked on, so he won't look like he's spookily floating in mid-air any more....... or super-glued to the side of the tree trunk. LOL

I've completed the finishing on the piece for the JA/S&S Monthly Challenge.... well, all bar one item needed. I bought some finishing bits whilst on holiday last year and they're now wanted for this. I remember having my hands on them a while ago and thinking that they were in danger of getting knocked off from where they were and moving them....... but can't remember where to. I've hunted high and low for them, in all the usual - and now all the unusual - places I could think of and found all kinds of stuff but can I find what I actually want? Can I heck! Yup, you've guessed it - they've disappeared into that blackhole called The Safe Place. An appeal to the Angel of Lost Property hasn't helped so far either. :0( I guess I'm going to have to take a pic of my piece as-is and hope the other bits eventually turn up so I can then send this off to its new home.

Still not done the finishing on the Challenge for a Finish piece: it's a heart shape and the first time I did this type of finish it gave me a bit of hassle, so I keep putting off tackling this one. No good keep telling myself I'll do it later - later just doesn't seem to be happening in this neck of the woods. ;0) I should be a bit less sleep deprived tomorrow plus have an early start, which means there'll be plenty of time to do it, so I'll just have to bite the bullet, won't I? LOL

There was plenty of wakeful night hours over the last few days which meant quite a bit of it was spent with my nose buried in my latest book and I finished reading it yesterday. It was Camelot's Shadow by Sarah Zettel (one of the many charity shop buys) and I'll be posting about that on The Reading Corner blog later, plus adding it to my Swap List and registering it with Book Crossing. Started my next book last night: Atlantis by David Gibbins - that grabbed me from the first page, so have read a little more today as well. The way it's going it's probably going to end up a fairly quick finish.

Thankfully DH got back from Italy OK last night. He was shattered from a hectic schedule of meetings with brain-storming sessions and all the travel......... and it didn't help that his bag weighed an absolute ton, thanks to a humongous lever-arch file full of bumpf he'd brought back from the Italian Company........ and I guess the two large bottles of grappa didn't help much either. ;0) (One is for a colleague, I hasten to add - he's not a total boozer). He almost gave himself a hernia hefting that little lot through the door and up the stairs. He also brought back a vacuum pack of proper Italian decaff coffee, in the hopes that I will be OK to drink it. Bless! I'm back at the Clinic to see the Herbalist again tomorrow, which is the reason for the early start, so I shall ask about it while I'm there. Will be having my blood pressure checked and a weigh-in too: wish me luck for some more good news! :0)

Christine: the Crop-A-Dile bumpf says it can be used on fabric - as well as card, paper, tin, leather, chipboard, wood, plastic, acrylic and poly. I've used it on evenweave already and it is waaaay better than the "bash it with a hammer until it cries for mercy" method - it's silent for one thing and there's no over-doing it and ruining the eyelets! LOL Between all the crafts I do my new toy will be getting quite a bit of use. :0)

Hope you've enjoyed your visit and a big thank you for all the kind comments you leave, they are very much appreciated. :0)

A Catch-Up

Thought it was time to do a catch-up post with the latest pics of NW and SS, as promised.

First up is the progress on Night Watchman:

Not a great change this time around, as I wasn't able to stitch on him for a second night last week. There'll be a fair bit more done this week as I'll be on my own until Wednesday night: DH went off with two other colleagues on another business trip to Italy first thing this morning........ yet again the last one has proved not to be the final trip! DS works during the day and has rehearsals and other things to do in the evenings, so that means more hours on my own to fill. Good job I stocked up on DVD's, isn't it? LOL

Progress on Sea Stars was a bit better - not only did the larger motif get finished but two small motifs and another fish were added:

If you look closely you may be able to see a brighter patch across the pic. Yes, that was your actual real sunshine coming through the window. Yay!

The weekend was a good one. Cards were duly exchanged on Saturday and DH really liked the one I made for him. He gave me the Lost in Austen DVD I 'd been eyeing up - unfortunately the Pink Floyd CD I'd ordered for him from Amazon almost two weeks ago has only just been despatched. Disappointing: they don't seem to be as well organised as the books and DVD's section at all. Oh well: it should be here for when he returns from Italy, so I'll be able to give it to him then. We popped into Ashby so I could get some more Candaway capsules and herbal teas from the Clinic, with a call in at Tesco Express on the way home. Later we went to Poundstretcher so we could stock up on cleaning products and a few other things then on to the main Tesco. There I managed to get the clip'n'lock boxes needed for storing the new healthy foods in - can get my cupboards better organised with these, as they stack better than packets do and with the labels on the front it means I can always find exactly what I want straightaway. I also checked out their range of organic and specialist foods and was happy to find a couple more items that meet my dietary restrictions, so came home with a nice haul. A take-away curry from our favourite curry house for tea rounded off the day quite nicely. :0)

Sunday we went over to Doncaster to see my DSis. We took over the new light sockets and other electrical bits we'd got for her from our local Screwfix and DH spent some of the day fitting those in the front bedroom for her. I took one of my Book Crossing books over (Rosie by Alan Titchmarsh) for her to read then release afterwards in the cafe section of the Thornton's shop she works in - so far I haven't heard that any of the wild releases have been caught but the controlled releases have done OK (thank you, ladies, for journalling on these :0) ). I also took a couple of small stitching pieces with me and stitched on those whilst nattering and managed to finish the new piece for Challenge for a Finish, as well as stitching the backstitch border for whip stitching together my JA/S&S Challenge piece. We didn't get home until late.

Today is my usual jobs day, though Alex won't be coming for a visit due to having a rehearsal to go to tonight. As if trying to make up for that disappointment my package from Crafty Devils arrived this afternoon:

It's the first time I've bought from them: found them extremely helpful and friendly, with the goodies arriving very quickly, so I would use them again and am happy to recommend their service. Now I'll be able to make my own papercraft tags with the die (DH bought me a BigShot machine a couple of Christmases ago) and also add eyelets to things without having to bang them with a hammer - not only noisy but can also damage the eyelets if you get it wrong. Making floss ring tags will be a whole lot easier with this too!

Here's a peek inside the Crop-A-Dile case, just in case you were wondering what on earth it was. LOL I shall be having a play with both of these later. :0)

Weatherwise it's been so nice today I've had the thermostat turned right down and the back door open, to allow the fresh air to blow through the house........ haven't been able to do that in such a long time. The birdies have noticed the change too: it's a riot of song out in the garden and the large male pigeon has been busily strutting his stuff - though the females seem totally unimpressed. I guess his report card would read: could do better! LOL In fact it's been such a nice day it tempted me out there a couple of times to potter around for 10 minutes or so each time, dead-heading my herbs and pulling weeds. There are lots of signs of new growth and the crocus and snowdrops are already blooming, though not quite in full swing yet. Welcome back Spring, lighter nights and warmer weather! :0)

Christine: thanks for the red cabbage recipe. Luckily I'm allowed an apple a day but can't have raisins or balsamic vinegar - will try it with lemon juice as an alternative to the vinegar (the only fruit juice allowed on this diet) and see how it goes. Thanks also for the fabric recommendation - hadn't thought of that range. :0)

Thank you Laura for leaving a comment and input on fabric for the ED piece. Always nice to "see" new faces and add new blogs to my Bloglines. :0)

Thank you to all for taking the time to visit - hope you have had a gentle start to the week. :0)

Better Late Than Never

Thought that was the best approach for Night Watchman last week, seeing as how I forgot about Tuesday UFO Night after getting carried away stitching my piece for the Challenge For A Finish Blog. So he got pulled out of the bag Wednesday night for a belated stitching session and, as I tired quickly Thursday afternoon, also sat and did some more on him then as well - especially as there were some rather good documentaries on the TV. Here's what he looks like now:


It's good to see this growing nicely......... especially as there won't be another new large start until after he's finished.

Thursday night was Sea Stars SAL night and I didn't feel I got a huge amount done so sat and did more on Friday night as well. Here's where I got to with that:

Would have liked to have finished that larger motif but didn't quite manage it. Never mind, it should get finished this time round and hopefully a few more smaller motifs along with it too. :0)

Saturday DH and I went into the Town Centre determined to finally get me a new mobile phone. My old one has served me well but the battery has been slowly dying for some time, meaning it developed a nasty habit of switching itself off whenever it felt like it - not good when I'm on my own down the High Street and want the reassurance of knowing I can contact DH if I need to. A visit to Car Phone Warehouse later and one dinky little flip-lid silver Nokia with a basic camera, Bluetooth capability and MP3 wotsit was chosen and paid for. Not bad for just under £20.00, thanks to an offer they had on and a trade-in of my clapped out old phone (Bye bye little phone). Now all I've got to do is learn how to use the darned thing and its gizmos..... LOL. Next was a visit to the Health Food Shop to stock up on lots of healthy organic goodies, then home. When we'd put the shopping away and had some lunch we had a trip out to Uncle Henry's Farm Shop for more goodies from there, then home again.

That night I picked up the CFAF piece and completed it. Yay! Two Challenge pieces stitched - just the finishing and one more Challenge piece to go. After changing my mind several times on how to finish the Monthly Challenge piece I've now settled on one and hope to get that done some time tomorrow. The CFAF piece has to be a heart shape, so that's decided - just need to decide exactly how I want to achieve that/what look to go for. Will post pics as soon as it's OK to do so. :0)

Sunday it was really cold and didn't tempt me out of doors at all. DS and DH disappeared off to help with the Wilton Get-In at the theatre (another amateur group in the area). No stitching while they were out though: I've really got into my latest book, Hiding From The Light by Barbara Erskine, and have spent quite a bit of time with my nose well and truly stuck into that. LOL Not much choice about that though, as my computer suffered some kind of glitch whilst DH was out, tried to reboot then crashed and then wouldn't boot up again. Aaaaaaarrrrggghhh!!!! DH had it apart after he got home: hoovered out the dusty bits, checked all the electrical connections with a meter (all normal), waggled a few bits then put it all together again. This time it decided to play nice and booted up OK so he cleared out all the Temp Files etc then ran a scan on it - all is OK there and it seems to be running fine now so we have no idea what the problem was. Fingers and everything else crossed that it stays that way! I did a little stitching on my ornie for the Christmas Ornie Challenge in the evening.

DH had Monday and today off, using some of his holidays. Monday was jobs day whilst DH pottered around getting a few things sorted: picking up his prescription and getting it filled at the Chemist, popping to Aldi and the like. Alex came for a natter in the afternoon and brought a few things to show: her finished patchwork/embroidered piece, which was gorgeous, and a knotwork garden piece that is stitched with french knots in variegated threads which was very pretty and really effective (both Embroiderers Guild projects). She also brought some bargain felt kits she'd bought from the Viking Loom in York. These were felted pics: four were of seasonal flowers and the fifth of a lily - all are designed to be embellished with embroidery to give them detailing. Can't wait to see them finished as they will look amazing. I will have to start remembering to take pics to show!

Today has been a bit of an off day for me so I spent it at home pottering and stitching whilst DH had trips out: down the High Street for a haircut and to do a little shopping, then to Wickes and Screwfix to get some DIY bits, for us and my DSis, followed by a Governor's meeting in the early evening. After the past couple of days stitching the Christmas ornie is really starting to take shape now, so that'll soon be another piece needing finishing. Yay! After all the Challenge pieces are completed I will be able to concentrate on some other smalls I want to do for Clare's Miss-Tree and for Stitching For A Cure...... plenty to keep me busy when DH goes off to Italy again next week. Yes, despite saying that the last few trips should be the last up pops another one. :0( At least it won't be for long (Monday to Wednesday) so I shouldn't complain....... especially as DS will be out in the evenings, which means that I'll be in charge of the TV remote and can finally watch some of those DVD's I bought in the Amazon sale. LOL You're welcome to join me for the veg out ladies - just bring your favourite nibbles and your stitching. :0)

Clare: it wasn't Ashby-de-la-Zouch - Ashby is our local High Street. This town was originally separate villages, of which Ashby was one, which all grew and merged into the one town due to the growth of the steelworks (there used to be several, all major employers, and they built housing for the steelworkers - now there's just the one). It used to be a boomtown, believe it or not, and was the country's youngest town until Milton Keynes was built. How's that for a potted local history lesson? LOL

Well it's Tuesday UFO Night again so I'd best be off to get some more done on NW - got to keep on the right side of Mr Stick. ;0)

Many thanks for taking the time to visit. Hope you're all having a productive stitchy time. :0)

An Owl, Books and More....

It was UFO Night again over at JA/S&S Forum last night and, despite being tempted to get Mother Earth out for a change, I carried on with Night Watchman as I thought it would be nice to give him the rest of his body.

He's a handsome little chap. LOL

Yesterday saw the choices for February's Monthly Challenge being posted at JA/S&S by Karen. We can choose one of the heart design freebies from Elisa's Passions to stitch and finish as we want. A quick choice this time and the chart is printed off ready and I have a reasonable idea of what I want to do with it re: colours and finish........ which makes a nice change. LOL I've also decided on the design I want to stitch for the Challenge for a Finish piece, a redwork heart-shaped ornie: chart is printed out and thread and fabric chosen but I'm still trying to decide on how I want to finish this. Guess I'll just see if anything occurs to me whilst I'm stitching it. Unfortunately there won't be any pics of those for a while.

As there's a lack of any other stitching or craft pics to show I thought I'd share pics of my latest acquisitions. While I was in the Hospice book shop last Friday I spotted a set of books I'd had recommended to me some time ago by Lynn but couldn't get them at the time, as I knew I was going to be fairly loaded up between the new meds from the Herbalist and a Tesco shop. So, keeping my fingers crossed they were still there, DH and I called in on Saturday morning. Result - they were still there!


Three out of four of the Boudica books by Manda Scott. If I enjoy these as much as I think then they'll be joining my collection - meantime I'll be on the look-out for the fourth book, to go with them. Of course we had to have a really good look round while we were there and I ended up adding another four books to my haul:

Courtesans was from the Non-Fiction section and is about the lives of five specific courtesans: not just about who their lovers were but about the influence and power they held as leaders of fashion and society. The two books by Rosemary Hawley Jarman were recommended to me by one of the ladies in the book shop when there weren't any Philippa Gregory books to be found, as they are supposed to be written in a similar style - thought it was worth giving them a go. The Centurion book I was vaguely interested in reading but mostly got it as I thought it would appeal to DS - another prolific reader.

Meanwhile, DH had been rootling round the CD and DVD section. He'd found a classical CD he wanted and mentioned he'd seen a couple of CD's in there that I might like, so off I went for a rootle of my own whilst he looked at a book I'd spotted and thought he might like. Rootling was successful and I had these three CD's in my hand by the end of it:

I love the sound of panpipes, whether they are playing native music or a version of modern music (like these CD's), as I find them very soothing. I've been listening to them today as I've been doing a few things around the house and feel really chilled out now. LOL I love the songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and as I've not been able to listen to the cassette for ages, due to the player being broken, thought I'd treat myself to a CD version. They didn't break the bank either: they were only a £1.00 each. :0)

I'm afraid DH is a typical man and doesn't know how to shop: whilst I'd got myself a nice haul all he came away with was his classical CD and a book about WWII called Bomber Boys. He has such a fascination with that whole period of history, despite being a most extremely laid-back pacifist, that I'm sure he must have had a previous life then!

My Amazon order came in two parts this week, with the first half arriving yesterday and the second half today. The Candida diet recipe books are great: full of useful info as well as lots of tasty recipes, so I shall enjoy having a play around in the kitchen with those. The other goodies I got were these DVD's:

All of them were in the sale and all were under a fiver. As you can probably tell by the first three I love a good costume drama and these will be watched many times......... obviously when the menfolk are out. DS gave me the Elizabeth, The Golden Age DVD as a gift a couple of years ago so I had to get the first one to go with it, as I have a passion for the whole Tudor period and like these renditions of Elizabeth's story (those beautiful dresses!). The DVD at the end is for DH - part of his belated Christmas gift. He finally chose what he wanted last weekend: a screwdriver kit, complete in it's own tool box, from Screwfix - not much, or very exciting, so I've added this to go with and will be keeping my eyes open for other bits that he will like. I tell you, he just doesn't know how to shop at all - even when he doesn't have to pay! LOL

Well I've got a beef and veg stew going in the slow cooker that needs checking and a couple of Challenge pieces that need a start making, so I'd best get on.

Many thanks for visiting - hope the waffle hasn't bored you. LOL ;0)

Promised Update

Here's that update I promised.

First up is the January ornie I've finished for the JA/S&S Forum's Monthly Christmas Ornie SAL:

DMC Kit: #K4864 Baubles - Christmas Mini Range

White 14ct aida, as supplied

DMC threads, as supplied

Backing: Kates Kloth hand dyed felt

I changed the wording slightly. I'll admit to cheating with this. The stitching was completed back in December, before my mojo disappeared - as that was slow in returning and I was fast running out of time to stitch and make up one from scratch I thought it best to get around to doing the finishing on this. As it's a pretty simple design I decided to try the Prairie Schooler style of finishing for the first time - really pleased with the results and will use this finish again. I have a decent pair of pinking shears on order from The Cotton Patch, to make a better job of the edges next time round - fancy-edged cardmaking scissors (which is all I had to hand) really aren't up to cutting felt! LOL
I shall do better for next month - fingers crossed! - as I've already made a small start on February's ornie.

Next up is the card I made for my nephew Finlay's birthday:


He's actually in to robots and Dr Who and things like that but I didn't have anything suitable in my stash, so decided to use this simple balloon theme instead. What kids don't like balloons though? :0) It went in the post last Friday so should have arrived in plenty of time for his birthday this Thursday.

The next update is of Night Watchman, who got some attention again last week for UFO Night:

His body is filling in nicely and I love how the colour changes are used to give the effect of feathers - he's really standing out from the background now. I got myself a sale bargain with this kit but have to admit I probably would have given in and bought him if he'd still been full price - he's got such a sweet expression I wouldn't have been able to resist him!

Finally here's a pic of the birthday card I made for my DSis:

This is a rubber stamped image, stamped on the card with clear embossing ink which was then dabbed with chalks. I love this technique as it's easy to do and also gives a soft, dreamy look to images. I would love to eventually get some metallic and pearlescent effect chalks/powders to achieve a different look, as I enjoy using this technique.

Unfortunately there's no Sea Stars update this time around as I never did manage to stitch on it on Friday or over the weekend: I was too antsy to settle to stitching Friday night after the good news. Saturday day time DH and I were out and about: a trip down the local High Street in the morning, with dinner at Il Sorriso afterwards, then a trip into town in the afternoon - that left me too tired to concentrate in the evening. On Sunday we went to my DSis's for the day and these days I prefer to take just a small project with me (next SAL ornie, this time round) - although it's not often I get the chance to stitch whilst there as there's usually lots of news and things to catch up on.... too much of a distraction and that usually results in a frog visit, doesn't it?

The readings for Carpe Jugulum went well and rather surprised DS: he read for three roles and had two of them as his first and second choices (would have been happy with either), thinking he didn't really stand a chance at the third as it was for a fairly main character - but he was game to read for it anyway. He was stunned when he got the main character role - his face was a picture when he came in and it's one of the few times he seemed lost for words! LOL So pleased for him. Am pleased for Alex too: she read for the role of the Countess and got it! :0) From bits that DS has been telling us about the storyline it has us hooked already, so it's one we definitely want to go and see.

I had my usual jobs day yesterday (Monday) but Alex didn't come for her regular natter as she had her first rehearsal to go to, so I spent some of the extra time having a blog reading catch-up. Still a ways to go to get round everyone's but I will get there eventually. :0)

Thank you for taking the time to visit and a big thank you for the lovely comments on my Challenge piece - they made my day. Hope you're all enjoying the day. :0)