More Holiday and Afterwards

Do you like the new header? It's a pic DS took whilst on his walk around the Langdale Pikes. He took it from the "path" that goes up between Harrison Stickle and Pavery Arch and it gives views of Stickle Tarn to the left, looking down Great Langdale Valley to Lake Windermere in the distance - Elterwater looks like a little puddle in front of it. Stunning view!

As there were quite a few long, soggy nights - and some days - to fill on our holiday I got a reasonable amount of reading done. I finished Big Chief Elizabeth by Giles Milton, which I enjoyed more than Nathaniel's Nutmeg (just me being true to form, as I love anything to do with the Tudors and especially the Elizabethan era). Next up came Labyrinth by Kate Mosse, another enjoyable one (thanks for the recommendation!). Finishing that had me finally joining the Book Crossing site, as I didn't want to cart it home with me (have you seen it? It's like a flippin' doorstop!), and the thought of launching it into the wild to see where it travelled really appealed. Once all the details were registered I was initially going to leave it in the Stickle Barn but then changed my mind and left it in the Brambles Cafe instead. So, if any of you are in the vicinity and you fancy a free read...... LOL.

By the time Labyrinth was finished we'd had the trip to Rheged and, as well as the cardmaking goodies from The Paper Shop:

I came away with a Pagan book and another one on the Pendle Witch Trials which became my next read.

It's quite a fascinating piece of social history that gives an insight into the prevailing mind sets and the religious upheavals at the time, both in Britain as a whole and particularly in that area, which gives a new slant on what led up to the trials and subsequent hangings. I finished that today, so have to decide what I fancy reading next - there's plenty of choice with all the books I bought from charity shops in May, plus what I also bought from Rheged and the 2 Ravens:

Remember all that holiday stitching I took with me? Well.......... in the end I didn't touch any of the ongoing projects at all *blush*
I did start on some early Yule/Christmas stitching though, does that redeem me any? LOL I started the plastic canvas Santa ornie kit and really got on with it the first week, then the knee pain kicked in and put me off everything, so progress seriously dackered off after that. Here's where I got to with it:

I picked it up again on Sunday night, whilst watching the Batman Begins DVD, and have done a bit more of the backstitching but not enough to make another pic worthwhile.

When I returned home there were two surprises waiting for me from stitching friends:

Helen had kindly offered to send me the chart of the AOY Sailor Boy design she knew I wanted to stitch as a memorial piece to my Dad, which is to be a companion to the Raggety Ann design I stitched for my Mum. When I opened the package I found that Helen had also very kindly sent the fabric, threads and needle to go with it, so I could start stitching it straightaway.
The other surprise was from Barb who had very kindly RAK'd me this chart from my Wish List:

It seems I enabled her at the same time, as she was browsing through my WL for a look-see, as you do, and fell in love with the design too. :0)

The generosity and kindness of stitching friends is amazing: they always have the knack of knowing what to say, or they do something really kind with perfect timing, that helps give you a boost and cheers you up. Thank you so much Helen and Barb (((((hugs))))) - every time I look at your gifts I get a big smile on my face and know I am Blessed by your friendship. :0)

I also came home to find that my blog has gained three more awards and I've also been tagged - more of that in a separate post, as this is already another long one. (Helen: it will be a dinnertime sandwich with two coffees read at this rate! LOL)

Thank you for taking the time to visit and if you've got this far you deserve a round of applause. ;0)