More than just Cross Stitchin': Cuba

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Cuba - Part 2

Well I promised you some photos to chase away the winter woes, so.... here goes.

This first photo was taken on our second day here, this was the only time the beach was open, hence the green flag. It was only open for a total of 2 hours the entire week we were there because we went when it was just finishing up their rainy season at the end of November. We didn't know at the time that the waters were going to be so rough the rest of the week or we would have taken advantage of the few hours we had while it was open. Oh well....

We were fortunate because it was 27 degrees the entire week, the sun was shining every single day. To us, it was glorious; to the Cubans, it was cold. We're in our bathing suits all day long, and some of them were in long sleeve shirts or jackets. They couldn't believe we would even get in the ocean or pools, but for us it was warm!

I love the colour of the water.
The Brentwood ladies should love this one...eh?
Maybe we should consider an extra 'southern' retreat??

Headin' down to the lounge chairs and getting ready to chill.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......
What a feeling to be lulled by the waves!!

Holly and I chillin' as we watch a storm rolling in.

One of my favourite things to do is to sit at lake Huron - 10 min from my place - and watch a storm come in. This was quite fascinating watching it come in over the ocean - I love how half the sky is storm and half is sunshine.

The waves are starting to pick up now.

A quick glance to the left again to check out the sky... and ... oh my - there's a little extra 'scenery' for those of you who are interested.

... an added bonus to the scenery.

Swinging that camera a little more to the right and oh no... more added scenery, - quick - let's swing that camera all the way around to the right now and check out the other side.

"Hey Mr. - you forgot your suspenders !"

OMG - am I really seeing that?
Quick... move the camera back.
Move the camera back!!!

I will never feel bad about my bathing suit again!
I will never feel bad about my bathing suit again!
I will never feel bad about my bathing suit again!

The waves are really picking up now.

It looks like we better get packing up our things!

I love the contrast of the sky against the whitecaps.
It was morning when these pictures were taken.

We gathered our things and headed back up to the resort. The storm never did come in land though, so we just hung out by the pool for the rest of the day. The water was rough the entire time we were there, so finally by mid week I said, "OK - I Have to get in the ocean before I go home. I just have to!!" So one day we all went in together, but only knee deep as the waves were so forceful and I couldn't believe how much it stirred up the ocean floor. One step and you could go from knee deep to suddenly up to your waist and one more step and you could be up to your neck. We all made sure to stay close to the shore and very close to each other. At one point, I did fall down and I couldn't get up before a wave was about to cash over me. Crystal and her mom had to help me up quickly, as the undertow was very strong. We had a blast though in the short time we did get to venture out into the water.

You can see how close I am to the shoreline
and yet how how deep it is.

What adventure awaits us next...?

Bonnie

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Charlie Brown

Growing up, I had a pet monkey named Charlie Brown. Actually, he belonged to my sister and he came to live with us in 1966. You were actually allowed to have monkeys as pets then and if you can beleive it, he was ordered from an ad in the back of a magazine. Charlie Brown was a squirrel monkey (just like the ones in the Telus commericials).

Everyone in school loved when it was my turn for 'show and tell'. You will see in some of the photos (if the slide show downloads for me...) that he used to wear diapers. Eventually, he learned how to take them off. We had a rope strung across the kitchen from end to the other. We kept a piece of papertowel on the floor at the end of one rope and that's where he did his business. His rope provided many hours of entertainment. At bedtime, if mom and dad were not home when it was bedtime, he would sit on his roap and cry out until they returned.

If I was crying, Dad would put him up to my face to lick away my tears. He would dangle from my hair and lick from one eye to the next. It alwyays made me stop crying. He would play outside and every once in awhile he would swing from tree to tree and end up down the street at the neighbours.

Often you would find the monkey lying in the cast iron pan on the stove. The pilot light from the gas stove provided him a warm and comfy spot. He would also sit on top of the lamp shade for warmth, and if you ever heard a 'pop' - you knew he peed on the lightbulb. It happens...

Charlie Brown used to sit on the wall phone.... until it rang. That was always funny. He brought many years of amusement to us all and I miss him and his antics.

Bonnie

Warm hearts ... and warm toes!

Well since we are talking winter, let's talk about warm hearts ... and warm toes.

A few years ago at Christmas we had a gift exchange. Ironically, both Anita and myself had the exact same idea for a present. We always open our gift bags at the same time, and it was really hard for me to keep a straight face when I saw that Anita had had the same gift idea as me and while she explained that she thought slippers would be a good idea, that way we could carry them in our bag with us at all times. Anita had knit slipppers for everyone and made a little draw-string pouch, with our names embroidered on it, to keep the socks in.

Then they all opened my gift bag and we burst out laughing. I knew how much everyone loved snowmen, so I had stitched faces on white slippers and added a carrot button for the nose. Well we weren't finished with the laughter because I thought we should get a picture with our slippers on. So then we were all sitting on the floor trying to get different positions in order to get everyone in the picture at the same time. We tried sitting up against the wall and taking the picture of our toes all pointing up to the ceiling and then I said, nooooo - that will show the snowman's face upside down. Someone said... (and I won't say who...) "Good point, let's think of something else. What if we lay on our back with our feet in the air - you know... like if our feet were ON the ceiling"

Well then the faces would still be upside down wouldn't they. Spontanious Laughter.

We had to think of something else. It was decided that we would just stand toe to toe in a huddle and we would take the picture from above in order to get everyone in the picture. Sounded like a good plan right?

Well... not if you have a protruding belly and/or big boobs. After the inital light-headedness subsided from sucking in our bellies, we had to deal with the shadow from the boobs.

So we stood in our huddle, adjusting, wiggling and laughing with our arms around each other while we tried not to tip over. It was about that moment when Anita's daughter walked in on us, which of course added to the laughter when we saw the look on her face.

Finally the photo was taken and our toes are doubly warm.

Bonnie

It all started with a tea towel...

Quite some time ago when I was perusing the Dollarama, I came across the cutest autumn tea towel with a teddy bear dressed up like a scarecrow. It immediately reminded me of Jody and I thought 'I'm going to get that for her', and then I thought... why not get one for everybody? And so I did and it was a hit.

From that point on, it's no surprise to any of us if there just happens to be an occasional 'mini gift' exchange on Cross Stitch night. Once when Jody hosted in February, she gave us all a tiny picture frame with a 1" x 1" opening. I had no idea what to do with mine, but Tracey knew immediately. Because it was Valentines day, Tracey stitched a heart.

Mine sat for a good number of months before I could figure out what I could stitch in such a tiny area and not copy Tracey's idea. And then one day it hit me; Jody loves snowmen. I would do a snowman in the frame that Jody gave me. But.... do they make snowman patterns for less than 1" x 1"? I couldn't be bothered looking, so I winged it. And voila! A happy smiley snowman face. I think it took longer to write this posting than it did to stitch that happy face.

We'll have to get a picture of Tracey's heart posted after her renovations are complete as I expect it's packed away for now.

p.s. I wasn't allowed to Blog today unless I cleaned my house. It's half cleaned; consider this half a blog.
Bonnie

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Cuba - Part 2

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Christmas 2016