More than just Cross Stitchin'

Cuba - Part 5 - UFO's

2012-02-25T15:42:00.000-05:00

Unrecognizable Food Objects

When we first ventured into the restaurant of this all inclusive resort, we were amazed at the rows and rows of food and we just weren't sure where to start first. So we did a walk about to see just what was on the menu for that day. Each presentation of food had an international sign depicting the name of the dish in about 6 different country's languages and symbolized by their flag. In one area, there was a grill where you chose the meat you wanted and they cooked it right there in front of you, and they would also make stir fried rice. To top off your meal, there was the banana buffet where someone was always cooking bananas in what appeared to be a liquor and they served them over fresh crepes. When you cook bananas, the natural sugar caramelizes so this was a very popular dessert to finish off your meal. At first sight, we were amazed at the selection of foods, only to discover that the menu rarely changed all week. To offset that routine, we chose to eat our lunch at the Open Grill cafe just beside the pool. By the end of the week, we were really ready for some good ole home cookin'. Take note: if traveling to Cuba - be sure to be without snacks for the week or make sure you take your own because a can of Pringles at the resort was $5.50!!

Now - by no means did we starve, but some of the food on the buffet ... well... we were just unsure if we event wanted to sample it. Some we did, some we didn't. I don't even recall the name of most of these foods.

This didn't appeal to any of us.
Too mushy looking and simply unrecognizable.

Another UFO -
If I were to hazard a guess, I would say fish and tomatoes.
Or...perhaps whatever that red plant is on display behind it.

This was fish smothered in a white sauce.
I have no idea what the sauce was, but it was probably mayonnaise based as most everything was.

If you like ham, mayonnaise and peas, you are in for a real treat!!

These next two pictures became the joke of the week for us. When we first saw it, we did a double take of 'WTF is that?'. It was called Compost Salad. It was made of layers of spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, peas & carrots and it was held together by a clear gelatin. Served Cold! Each day we went to the buffet we made sure to see if the salad was still there. If it's not eaten, then would they make it the next day? You would think not, but each day it was there. Sometimes in a bit of a different form. We were never sure if it was fresh or put out again. By day five I said, "Ok, I've got to try this Compost Salad - apparently people are putting it on their plates" So I did and yes, it was awful.

Compost Salad.
They got the name right on this one!

A fresher looking version of Compost Salad.
This time in a jello ring form.
If this is a delicacy, I'm ok eating regular food.

So needless to say: we ate the majority of our meals from the fresh meat grill. Not all of the food looked like this, but I just had to throw in a few samples of what we turned our noses up at the most. Each morning at breakfast, there was always a line up for the fresh fruit juice which made right there in front of you. Now I have to say, in terms of presentation, the following pictures show some creative talent.

This little cream puff is supposed to be a swan,
but to me it looks like the Loch Ness Monster.

Love the bread dolphin.

Can't miss the beak on this bird.
Not sure what the food is, I was too busy looking at the bird.

OK, now the turtle... why he's just cute as heck.

I'm sure this took a bit of time to create.

This brightly coloured snake caught the eye of many.

awwwww. Love Birds.

Roses...for that added touch to the ham.

Cool as a cucumber!!

That's it for the UFOs. I wonder what I should post next....
Bonnie

Cuba - Part 4

2012-02-23T08:06:00.000-05:00

It's time to lay by the pool. Our resort had 4 connecting pools and one of them had a swim up bar. We were a tad spoiled weren't we? Gotta love an 'all inclusive' vacation. This pool is the one we frequented the most. For the better part of the day we had it to ourselves, which was an added bonus. We were blessed with sunshine every single day!

This was the quieter pool that we liked to lounge by the most,
far enough away from the entertainment area
- yet close enough for us to hear all the music.

I think this had to be the busiest day this pool saw.

Below is one of the bridges that overlooked the connecting pools, the combination patio and swim up bar, rec area, towel shed and entertainment areas. One unsuspecting young man was spotted under the bridge practicing his boxing thinking that no one could really see him, but we did. For the remainder of the trip, we referred to him as Rocky.

Rocky's training grounds.

The swim up bar - it's a bit dark to see,
but there are seats all lined up around the bar.

Holly's birthday was in early October and when Niki found out she booked a trip to Cuba, she immediately went out and bought her a 'bubba'. When I saw it I said, "How the heck are you going to fit that in your luggage?" - Turns out, it came in very handy because she used it to transport her sunglasses and fragile items on the way there, and it housed her cigars for the return trip home. When she found out I was going on the trip too Niki said, "You're going to want one too mom, because you only get small 5oz cups for your drinks at the bar and that will be gone before you even get to the beach. This way; you're good for a few hours". Plus it keeps drinks cold for 12 hours. So I purchased one, but I got the smaller version since I don't really drink that much. (...now now...shhhh... Jayne...)

Ready to relax, drinks are full, timer is set so we know when to turn over.

Now, I'm not one to sit still for long and I really didn't know how I was going to handle this vacation just sitting around all week. Niki and Shawn said, "You better take lots to read, cause by mid week I can see you going stir crazy". Surprisingly though, I did not. I took 5 books with me and didn't even crack open one of them. I'm guessing that was telling me how badly I needed a vacation. Being so far away from home, no phones, no computers, no commitments ... it's amazing how detaching yourself from those things can make you forget about everything else back home

My view as I relax by the pool.

Others enjoyed the pool as well.

Now, this was a real treat to watch. This father spent a great deal of time in the pool with this baby and she just loved it. I can't tell you how many times he just walked around the pool balancing her on his hands and she never once fell. You could see her little body bobbing back and forth to stay balanced. She was so cute.

This is one of my favourite photos.

Now the interesting thing about people watching is that you never know what you'll end up seeing. This unsuspecting couple weren't shy at all about their public display of affection and you could really tell when he stood up. This was first thing in the morning at the pool and so we referred to them as the Morningwoodies. For some strange reason though... they suddenly got up and left, but returned a short while after. hmmmmm I wonder why.....

Zoom lens. More than one meaning

Stay tuned... next posting: UFO's

Bonnie

Cuba - Part 3

2012-02-20T09:46:00.000-05:00

While in Cuba, Holly and I were debating what we wanted to do outside of the resort. We considered a full day excursion on a catamaran, going to the new dolphin center or popping into town to go to a spa and have a massage. I said to Holly, "You know... really, I came here to relax, I really don't feel like the 12 hour full day excursion and we can get a massage at home and it's covered on our drug plan... so let's go swimming with the dolphins; we can't do that at home!!

Just this year they finished building a Dolphin Center just 10 minutes up the road from our resort. Bonus !! You could pay $3.00 to get into the Center and watch the dolphins and the shows and stay for as long as you like. And for $60 you could get in the water and interact with the dolphins.

This is Kiki. If memory serves me correctly, she is 14 years old.

We stood on a cement platform in order to interact with the dolphins and - man!!!!!! - I wished I had remembered my water-shoes because the platform was slimy! We tried our best to stay in one spot so we didn't have to touch any more slime. LOL - gross -

We were shown different hand gestures that made Kiki do her many tricks.

Kiki really liked to show off.

Kiki swam around with Holly holding on.

...then it was my turn. This was so much fun.

I highly recommend this activity if you have the opportunity when down south. We met up with some of the people who went on the full day excursion, but when they swam with the dolphins, there were about 12 people in a circle treading water and the dolphins swam amongst them all. We on the other hand got one on one attention and we were allowed to rub Kiki's belly, we brushed her teeth, she danced when we made certain hand gestures, we felt her heatbeat when we touched under her fin and best of all, she took us for a ride. We had a blast with Kiki.

More to come....

Bonnie

Cuba - Part 2

2012-02-18T09:13:00.000-05:00

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

Cuba - Part 1

2012-02-15T21:51:00.000-05:00

Last Thanksgiving, my daughter Holly was home for the holidays and she was so excited because she had just booked her first ‘down south’ vacation. We were talking and I asked her, “Who are you going to Cuba with?” She replied, “Crystal and her mom. (then the lightbulb comes on…) – gasp – you wanna go with us? – You’ll love Crystal’s mom!” To which I sadly had to reply, “Thanks for asking, but no… I don’t have the money right now to go on a vacation to Cuba” “Ahhhh, That’s too bad, 'cuz we’d have fun”, she said.

As luck would have it, two days later, I won an award at work. The prize: A trip voucher! Can you believe it? It was meant to be!!

So I called my other daughter Niki and said, “Don’t say anything to Holly yet, but if I can rearrange my holidays I’m thinking about joining her – what details can you give me regarding her departure and return dates?” Niki said, “Better yet… my friend just happened to be the one that booked the trip, so I’ll have her email you with all the details” So… with all the details at hand, I was able to rearrange my vacation time at work and head down south for what was also MY first tropical vacation. Between the two of us, we took well over a thousand pictures. Thank goodness for digital cameras and memory cards.

Let’s chase away our winter woes with a refreshing change of scenery.... and a bit of fun!

The view from our balcony.

The view as we leave our complex and head out for a walk.

First stop: the white sandy beaches!!

Thank you LFCU for this amazing voucher towards my trip!

My feet are in the ocean for the first time in my life!
So glad I got that pedicure.

Someone is clearly excited. She wishes to remain nameless,
but she sure can catch some air!!


Holly and I on our first night -- relaxing in the lounge bar.

And as each night goes by, another drink to taste and try.

.. and try ...

...and try..

...and by now I have NO idea what I'm laughing at.
The really funny thing is: I am not a drinker.

Apparently, Holly has had a few too many daiquiri's by the pool!

Cuba Day - dancers entertained us by the pool side in their colourful costumes.

More colourful attire.

About to make coconut drinks....
just what I need - more drinks!!

Dem dare's some fine cocoanuts!

Stay tuned ... there are many more pictures to come.
Bonnie

Just Had To Share!

2012-02-12T10:25:00.000-05:00

You know when you come across an idea that you get so excited about, you just have to share? Well, this is definitely one of those times!

Even though I wish I could take full credit for this idea, I can't. In fact I ~~stole~~ copied the idea from one of Denise's posts over at Country Stitcher.

I don't know about you, but I've been trying for years to find a neat and tidy way to store my specialty threads like Weeks and GAST other than hanging them on a ring, or keeping them in small ziploc bags. Denise came up with the perfect solution, and I spent last evening happily organizing my threads - alphabetically, of course.

Thanks to Anita and Bonnie for suggesting to leave a few empty slots here and there... that way each time you get a new colour, there is less shuffling around of threads.

Denise used a 3 ring binder and clear sheets with pockets that were made to hold business cards. While shopping in Walmart, I did find these pages... but in an aisle over by the photo albums I found these similar pages used to hold collection cards and they turned out to be the better deal!

They were both the same price ($3.97), but in the business card package you got enough pages with slots to hold 50 colours and the ones I ended up buying had enough pages in the package to hold 90 colours. I also really like that these ones open from the top.

I then took things one step further and printed off the full list of colours for each binder and highlighted the ones that I have. Now when I'm starting a new pattern and need to take inventory of what colours I need to buy, I can just have a quick glance at the list and I'm good to go!

Many thanks Denise for sharing this awesome organizing idea with your fellow stitchers!

Now, if only I could find out the perfect place to store the binders...

Tracey

Yeah, right...

2012-02-07T23:17:00.000-05:00

They say it's all in the advertising - but come on... really?????

Put the word Joy on that purple bag of little coloured eggs... now that makes sense :^)

Tracey

Shampoo and Blow Dry Please

2012-02-04T17:07:00.001-05:00

It's amazing isn't it what a new hair style can do for you? It can give you a whole new look; one that someone actually has to take a double take to see if it's really you.

Well that happened today and I just had to share with you... the many faces of Libby that is. For any of you new followers, Libby is my 'grandpuppy' and you can read other posts about her found along our sidebar of labels. All my kids are home this weekend to celebrate Paige's 20th birthday and when Libby makes the trip home, she always gets pampered at our local groomers. Today when she arrived home from the 'salon', Niki hollered as she was coming in - "Don't look yet, don't look - let us get all the way in the door!!"

This was my clue to grab the camera. When I saw her, I was amazed at the transformation. Lets start by taking a look at some of the pictures from the past and work our way up to today. Libby is part Sheltie-part Poodle. When she was first brought home, she reminded us of a Muppet. Lots of fur that was really going no where. With one blue eye and one brown eye, it's fascinating when she looks at you from either the left or the right angle. If she wants to give you the big ole sad eye puppy dog look, she'll look at you from the left eye. If she wants to give you a dirty look, she'll look at you from the right - this eye looks more human and it really does have a more dramatic affect. Funny how she knows that.

Only a few months old and her first trip to Forest.
She was a good puppy during the two and a half hour drive.

She's my cuddle bug. I have to frame this picture: I just love it.

See what I mean by that 'human' eye...

So by now, it's summer.... and the 'city' groomer
really took it to heart when they asked for a summer cut.

A few months later... it's all starting to grow back in, but when I first saw her
she immediately reminded me of Sir Didymus off of the movie Labyrinth.

Sir Didymus

So now... it's about 6 months later and it's growing in nicely.
This photo was taken right after she came back from the new local groomer.

And here she is today with her totally new look.
She's so pretty !!! You wouldn't even know it was the same dog.

She has more of a Sheltie look about her now
and she just looks more feminine.

So I just had to take Libby for a walk over to Tracey's to show her off. I knew Tracey would love to see her new look, especially since she previously owned a Sheltie. Her dog Heidi was an inspiration for the type of dog that Shawn wanted to own one day. As we were chatting about the transformation, Tracey commented, "If someone other than you or your kids was walking by with her I would never have known it was her"

That's when I decided I would post about her. I had said to Tracey, "I think I'll post about the many faces of Libby", Hey that might be a really good post one day - we could take the pictures of ourselves over the years and the many hair styles. That would be a hoot. I took my cue to leave quickly upon hearing Tracey's gasp.

Stay tuned... If I can get Tracey to change her mind and if I can get up the nerve...I just might do that...?

Bonnie

We Have a Winner!!

2012-01-31T07:31:00.000-05:00

We are celebrating our 2nd Bloggiversary today, so it's time to announce the winner of our Give-Away!!

First off, we would like to thank each and everyone of you that took the time to comment, become a follower, and post about our give-away on your blog. We also have something else to celebrate... we have reached the 100 mark with our followers; so we want too thank-you for that too!

I had my hubby help with the drawing... he was the official folder of all the entries and pulled out the name of our winner...

Congratulations to ... RITA of Stitch n Chat

We hope to hear from you soon Rita, so we can look after all the details and get your prize package sent out to you.

We hope that all our friends have a wonderful stitchy day!

Tracey

Tea for Two

2012-01-29T19:55:00.000-05:00

For close to 30 years now, my girlfriend Diane and I have been getting together for tea. We met when our daughters were in preschool together and a few years later I just happened to buy a house 2 doors down from her. At the time someone had said to me, “That will be the end of that friendship, that’s just too close to live to each other.” Far from it.

We loved getting together and it is so convenient to just yell across the yard, “Come for tea!!”

Often we will traipse over to the others house in the early hours of the morning in our slippers, sometimes our jammies, sometimes braless and often times without hair or makeup done. Because we can. And mostly because we don't care what we look like. We enjoy each others company and our friendship continues to build over the years through many hours of laughter (and the occasional tears).

During one of our many visits, after we could barely breathe from one of those moments of laughter, I had commented, “How many people do you know that get together like we this?” Her reply was, “Not many. I don’t know anyone who gets together as much as we do”

Over the years Diane has collected teapots and when I saw these next few patterns, I knew I just had to do them for her. She loved them. She has them both hanging in her kitchen and often when I’m over, she comments on how much she still loves them.

I stitched this one so many years ago
I can't even remember if it was a kit or a pattern... sorry...

Rather than frame this project,
I decided to turn it into something a little different.

I made this into a serving tray. After positioning a matte around it
I placed a piece of glass, caulked it to hold it in and then I
glued a piece of braid around the edges.

Tah-Dah! So many things you can do with a cross-stitch project.

Once while we were shopping we came across this book and I said, “Oh Diane, what a perfect name for a book. Why didn’t we think of this?”


Not only the title caught my eye, but the gorgeous Victorian style.

This next cross stitch was a kit that someone no loner wanted and put it up for grabs, - Needless to say, I snatched it up pretty quickly.

Over the years, Diane has collected many teapots. One day she came over with one and said, "I'm getting rid of some of my teapots, I just don't have room for them all. I want you to have this one because it just reminds me of you, and I know how you love your cat."

How cute is that?

Women are like teabags.
We don't know our true strength until we are in hot water!

Eleanor Roosevelt

Well now that's in the bag, I think I'll curl up and have a spot of tea.
Thanks for stopping by.

Bonnie

Time Is Running Out

2012-01-28T10:28:00.000-05:00

Only 3 days left to get in on the chance to win our 2nd Bloggiversary Give-Away!

You can check out all the info in this post here .

Hurry on by... we wouldn't want you to miss out!

Tracey

Easy as Pie !

2012-01-26T22:08:00.000-05:00

Of all the talents I have, making pie crust is not one of them. Recently, I posted about my friend Lori who loves to bake and we've been talking about getting together for quite some time now for some lessons, but of course with our busy lives that just didn't happen. During one of our chats in the lunch room Richard happened upon our conversation and commented what a great idea it would be to get together and do that. And then it still didn't happen.

Sadly for us, Richard made the decision to leave our company and Lori decided what better way to say a proper goodbye, but to have a "Pie Off", so she invited myself and Richard over for dinner and a pie. Her building the dinner and us, of course, building the pies. I wished I had remembered to take my camera to get lots of pictures, but luckily Richard had his cell phone which at least captured the finished product.

One of the reasons that Lori and I get along so well is because she is as ~~anal~~ organized as I am. Upon arrival, she had the entire meal ready to go in the oven while we began the pie lessons. And of course everything was in place, ready for production and lined up on the counters all ready to go. After tying our apron strings, but before cutting in the lard, we popped open a bottle of wine. Lori assured me that was a necessary step in the procedure and I obliged by believing her.

By the time we were both finished with the lesson, we had enough dough to make 12 pies or about 10 dozen tart shells. So we each made a pie that we were going to have with dinner and the rest of the dough we formed into the pie or tart shells to be put in the freezer. Richard was in charge of the lemon meringue and I was in charge of the strawberry rhubarb. Once we had the pies in the oven, we used up the rest of the dough to make the tarts and Lori pulls out this tart press contraption the likes of which I had never seen. She's had it for about 22 years -- and now that I've used it, I can understand why she'd never want to go back to rolling and cutting tart forms again. All we did was place the tart tin in the hole, pop in a ball of dough, cover it with a piece of saran and press. Voila! A perfectly formed tart shell.

Before dinner and during the lessons, we were treated to her 'special' appetizers. And by special I mean some of her famous baking that I blogged about just before Christmas. Delicious as always Lori! She then served a delicious dinner, complete with salad, garlic bread, lasagna and of course...more wine! Then it was time for the dessert to come out of the oven.

Richard's masterpiece.

Now the really funny part about my pie is how it really turned out in the end because as usual... I couldn't just put on the top shell, I had to fancy it up a bit. So I grabbed Lori's cookie cutters and began cutting out eyes to make a face. And as I was about to put it in the oven Lori said, "Wait, we have to put a slit in it for the steam to escape". ooops. so I grabbed a knife and put the slits at the top of the mouth to create a friendly smile. But when we pulled the pie out of the oven and saw that it overflowed just a little, it gave us a hint of just how delicious this pie was going to be. It couldn't help but lick it's own lips!! Tracey...does this count as one of your 'Face the Days' ??

We all had such a blast, and we are kinda kicking ourselves for not doing this long before. Lesson Learned!

Richard and I had become such great friends and got to know each other so well that I became known as his 'work wife'. Because I always send his real wife the updates to the blog, I know he'll be reading this.... so... Richard - thanks again for being such a great friend. When I went to purchase a card for Richard I decided I was not going to buy him a goodbye card because it wasn't really goodbye. We promised to stay in touch, so I bought him a thank you card instead and I filled it with a list of many thank you's for all the things he has done with and for me over the past 3 years.

It was hard for me to say good bye to Richard and the best way I could describe how I felt is in the picture below.

My friend Lisa at work also knew that today was going to be hard for me to see Richard leave so when she checked in on me I replied back in my email... "this is how I feel" - and I attached the picture of Dorothy saying goodbye to Scarecrow.

Her reply, "Are you saying Richard doesn't have any brains?"

You know you have great friends when they know when to check up on you and when they know to make you laugh. Thanks Lori for the pie lessons (and the flowers last week). Thanks Lisa for checking in on me (and going bowling last night with Richard, Matt and I and laughing with me when fall on my a$$. That's right people, I fell flat on my a$$ in front of 3 teenage boys).

And Richard, I can't thank you enough for your friendship and the many many many times you made me laugh so hard I was glad I wore my depends that day.

Bonnie

Turn That Frown Upside Down

2012-01-24T16:56:00.002-05:00

Day # 3 with a cold... feeling crappy... looking forward to sleeping in on my day off. Get called into work... Bummer... :^(

I finish work for the day, so I decide to check for mail at the post office... I have a parcel... Yippee!! :^)

A week ago I was the lucky winner of a San Francisco Gift-A-Way from Edgar over at his wonderful blog Blacksheep's bit of the Web and my package arrived today!! I was so excited to open it, I could hardly wait... but I had this sad face looking at me wanting to go for a walk first, so I set the box aside to have something to look forward to when I got back.

As I cut open the box, I immediately caught the aroma of ground coffee... mmmmm! Sitting on the very top was this beautiful card of the San Francisco Bridge, and inside Edgar had hand written in detail where each item had come from. It was almost like being right there! (How I would love to visit someday!)

When I entered the Gift-A-Way, there were some specific questions about likes and dislikes, and WOW!... everything in the parcel was a GREAT BIG LIKE!!!

Milk chocolate...

There's that coffee I smelled...

Next came a bunch of my favourite candy...

In a pretty green bag, some of the softest, chewiest, tastiest caramels I have ever had!! (I am sampling the pomegranate one as I type... to die for!!)

And last but not least some lemon curd, pink salt and some sweet honey...

I would like to send many thanks, along with a great big hug to Edgar for this simply awesome box of goodies, and for helping to turn my frown upside down.

Oh, and my taste buds thank-you too :^) ...

Tracey

Changing the Mantle

2012-01-23T05:55:00.000-05:00

Does anyone else find it a challenge on how to decorate their mantle for that in between stage? Christmas is over, but it's still too early for all those hearts and pinks and reds?

Not very original I know, but what I came up with could best be described as a "winter mantle". Mainly snowmen, but also a few other wintery/homey themed items that make you want to cozy up with a warm afghan and your hot beverage of choice.

I'm wanting some sort of a garland... paper snowflakes?... Crocheted snowflakes?

Happy to finally display this snowman cross stitch that I finished in March 2011!

Just had to add this rustic "Let it Snow" plaque that my son made me 15 years ago when he was in Grade 5.

Since changing things over after the Christmas decorations came down a couple of weeks ago, I've noticed other mantles in the blogging world that have followed this same direction; but with less snowmen and more winter. I've ~~stolen~~ tucked away a lot of these ideas that I hope to incorporate into my decor this time next year!

Tracey

A Finish

2012-01-22T11:55:00.000-05:00

A couple of months ago when the cooler weather was beginning to settle in, I started to crochet a scarf for myself. With the preparations for Christmas, the busyness of the holidays, and the not-so-winter-like temps we were having here, the scarf got put on the back burner. Until now. Yesterday I made up my mind that I was going to sit down and finish it.

Little did I know when I started making it, that in the meantime I would find this wool coat (for $20.00!) at a local thrift store. I think the colours really work well together!

I do believe the snowy, winter weather is officially here, so now I will be all prepared... cozy and warm.

Tracey

It's Time for Our Give-Away... Let's Celebrate!!

2012-01-18T20:26:00.000-05:00

If you read our last post, you know that our 2nd Bloggiversary is coming up on Tuesday, January 31st. It's hard to believe 2 years have gone by... we have learned so much about the blogging world during this time, plus we have "met" so many wonderful people and made new friends through this experience.

We'd like you to join in on the fun and celebrate with us!

Starting right now, and up until midnight on Monday, January 30th, you can enter for a chance to win our Give-Away. The rules are pretty easy:

To get 1 chance - you must be a follower, and leave a comment on this post only.
To get another chance - write about our Give-Away on your blog (either in a post, or on your sidebar).
To get even more chances - for each one or your friends that stops by to enter and mentions your name, you will get one more entry (per friend).
Don't forget to give an email address, or some way to contact you. We wouldn't want you to miss out if we draw your name!

We are still adding goodies to the pile, but in the meantime here is a little sneak peek of what you will receive...

We all love surprises, so we'll keep the rest of the items under our hat... all except the famous Sugar & Spice chocolate, because we wouldn't want that to melt!

Good luck everyone!!

Tracey, Bonnie, Anita, and Jody

It's Coming Soon!

2012-01-14T10:34:00.001-05:00

Our 2nd Bloggiversary that is!!

The actual date is January 31st, so the 4 of us have been busy gathering up goodies for a give-away which we will draw for on that Tuesday.

We hope to have all the details on how to join in on the fun in a post sometime this week, so stay tuned!!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend full of stitching...

Tracey

What Do You Do?

2012-01-10T16:10:00.000-05:00

It is the first day of 2012. It is 5pm. I'd had a late lunch, the house is tidy, the dog is walked, I have a loaf of bread in the bread machine and hubby is gone for the day... now what should I do? Why stitch of course!!

I turn on the TV and come across the movie "27 Dresses". Chick flick... perfect! Decide to check my email one last time before I settle in my chair and all of a sudden everything goes black. The hydro is out. Wait - only for a second - and it's back on. Oh no! It flickers again and again and then total darkness. OK... no worries... even though it's very windy out, it probably won't be out for very long; right? Wrong!!! There goes my perfect night of stitching, not to mention my loaf of bread in the machine which still had a couple of hours to go!!

So what do you do when the hydro goes out? What do I do?? Get out my little book light and read Ghost stories of course!


A Christmas gift from my daughter and SIL.

I think about trying to cross stitch with the book light, but it just isn't bright enough. But I have used it for crocheting before! So I get busy and finish up a new dishcloth pattern I have been working on. When you don't have an electric dishwasher, you can never have too many dishcloths!

In the meantime, Paul arrives home. Takes Willow for a walk in the pitch black. Comes back, and being the nice wife that I am, I give up our only book light, so hubby can work on his cross words. (Note to self: add a second book light to shopping list.)

So after 5 hours of living like pioneers (how did they do it?!!), the hydro comes back on at 10:05pm.

I may as well go have a look in the bread machine and pitch the ruined loaf. I am surprised to see the lid of the bread maker pushed slightly open... the bread hadn't started the baking phase when we lost power, and so it has been "rising" all this time! I am about to throw it out when I wonder ... hmmmm... why don't I try baking it in the oven? ( I guess my brain is still in pioneer mode!) What do I have to lose?

Online I go and find wonderful info on the bread making process with pictures too! Since the mixing is already done, and the recipe says to let the mixture rise for 4 hours or more, the hard part is already done!

As it looked straight from the bread machine.

Covered with olive oil and salt... it's now "resting" for 30 minutes.

I bake it for 35 minutes and voila!... there you have it. OK, so it may not be the prettiest bread you ever did see, but at least I salvaged it and it's edible for the most part. (Was still a little doughy in the middle.)

So my bread making adventure is now over, and it is time to put January 1st, 2012 ( and me) to bed. I have to admit that I am still pouting a little over the fact that not a single X was made on my fabric today.

What a difference a day makes!!

Well my frown was turned upside down the next morning when Bonnie emailed me and invited me to her place for a day of stitching!! :^)

All was well as I headed over to Bonnie's house around 12:30 with my bread (and stitching) in hand, where we enjoyed a delicious lunch of her homemade hamburger stew, ice-cream dessert and left-over Christmas goodies. After a 10 hour day of stitching, talking and munching while watching the 1991 TV series of Dark Shadows, I walked home thankful for having our hydro again... mostly because it allowed me to have such a wonderful day together with a dear friend.

Tracey

As 2012 Rings in a Brand New Year

2012-01-03T21:54:00.000-05:00

We want to take a moment to thank you all for visiting our blog (especially our faithful followers) and we would like to wish you a bright and Happy New Year filled with Health, Wealth and Abundance!!

Anita, Bonnie, Jody, Tracey (AKA - The 4 from Forest)

With 2011 behind us now and as I reflect upon the year gone by, I am grateful for the many blessings I received, but at the same time sad for my family members and close family friends who have been affected by so much tragedy and unexpected loss this past year. As I was thinking about them on New Year's day, I decided to write a little something to place in a New Year's card to send to them. I shared it with Tracey and we discussed whether or not it was appropriate to post and we decided, 'why not ? -- some of us just haven't had as good a year as others and they may appreciate it too'. I hope it brings some comfort to those who need it now.

Comfort, peace and blessings for the New Year,

Bonnie

Libby Loves the Snow!

2011-12-27T21:39:00.000-05:00

Well it wasn't a white Christmas in 2011 for us here in Forest, but December 27th brought down a bit of the fluffy stuff; wet and fluffy that is. After a bit of shopping in the morning and polishing off left overs in front of the TV in the afternoon, we thought we really better get outside for a walk!

It was a gorgeous night and big fluffy wet flakes were gently falling and we wanted to see how Libby would react in the snow. Needless to say - she Loved it! My camera couldn't keep up with the speed of her excitement, but the following pictures will give you a bit of an idea of how much she enjoyed it. I can't wait until the snow is a 'dryer' and a little deeper - then I hope to get some really good snapshots of her.

Getting ready to head out for our walk.

I told you the flakes were big !

I am surprised that the camera even
captured this shot as clear as it is.
You can tell by how her feet are positioned how fast
she's flying through the snow!

She's loving this!

She kept stopping to get the snow balls off her feet.
She'll be wishing she wore the puppy boots I bought her for Christmas.

Well the snow was thick and wet, but very pretty against the night sky. And just watching Libby have so much fun was so worth it.

Holly called and said she made it home ok, but it wasn't a pleasant 2.5 hour drive. She's thinking that snow tires are a good idea after all and I'm hoping it's clear for the morning commute back to work tomorrow. The only really good thing about going back to work tomorrow is that I won't be tempted to sit and each the left over Christmas cookies all day. (Well - that - and the paycheck!)

Happy Holidays everyone.

Bonnie

TUSAL- Post #13

2011-12-24T08:00:00.016-05:00

Oh, where did the year go??

Hard to believe this is the final TUSAL posting for 2011! Just a few bits of floss added to the pile...

Here's to many hours of stitching (not frogging!!) in 2012.

Wishing you all the best of this holiday season... Merry Christmas!!

Tracey

Let It Snow!

2011-12-23T11:35:00.002-05:00

Today I thought I'd share pictures of my outside decor. We got a bit of snow overnight, so I figured this may be my only chance to capture that "Christmasy" look before the 25th.

Here we go...

Hope you enjoyed my little tour. Thanks for stopping by!

Tracey

Cookies & Cherries & Chocolates, Oh My!

2011-12-23T11:17:00.001-05:00

Arriving at work this week, on my last day before my vacation, I was greeted with a wonderful surprise at my desk. I knew right away it was from my friend Lori. We share a passion for baking, so we can totally relate to the intricate details we apply to our baked goods and the time we take to make those special treats for our loved ones. You either love making this special effort, or you don't. Either way everybody loves to eat them. So in the end, we all win! Tomorrow, I'll be working on my famous &*$%@$*%%&Cookies !!

I can't wait to open this !!

Overflowing with decadents.

Let's look inside each bag now. OMG - I can smell the chocolate already. I'm getting so excited !!!!

Lori and I have spent many lunch hours discussing recipes and sharing cookie ideas and she explained to me once how she has her 'special' tweezers just for applying her decorations on her cookies. She said, "People think I'm crazy" but I totally get where she is coming from. Like a guy has his tools in his shed, the gals have their 'gadgets' in the kitchen. As I opened the first bag, I truly appreciated this gift even more.


Shortbread cookies like I've never seen before! Don't you just Love the little plate? A gift from Jody a few years ago.

Now, just so you don't think this is a large plate
or that the decorations are large,
I placed tweezers on the plate
to show how intricate this work is.
(Don't worry, they were cleaned)

ohhhhh - I can smell the peanut butter and chocolate.
I Love the little holly leaves - isn't it amazing how something so tiny can add so much!

Oh, the smell of the chocolate is driving me crazy.
I should have eaten breakfast before doing a photo shoot.

Oh my goodness. This plate is filled with Cake Pops, and get this - cream cheese, chocolate chips and crumbled cake rolled into balls and dipped in chocolate. It's like eating chocolate covered cookie dough. Don't be silly, Yes, of course I tasted one


Ohhhh... now it's yummy cereal, peanuts and chocolate covered cluster thingie's. That's the name right Lori? You didn't happen to use bran cereal did you - 'cause that's a really good way to hide fiber and justify eating the cookie at the same time. I'm thinking I might have to hide those homemade turtles from my kids though - so don't anyone forward this post to them ok?

mmmm gingersnaps and fondant covered cherries

Now the hard question... do I want tea or cappuccino for breakfast, and dare I eat cookies for breakfast. Sure why not, it's Christmas and Lori went to all that work!


hmmmm tea or cappuchino? Note the snowflake on the cup. Another gift from Jody. It's magnetic and you can wear it on your winter scarf or whatever... I choose to display it on my mug because it looks festive and sparkly. Sparkle, Sparkle, Sparkle. It's all about the bling!

OK, now Bonnie - decide which cookie you want. OH, why make this difficult - the solution is staring you right in the face!

Have one of each silly.
Have the cappuccino for breakfast and call Diane over for tea this afternoon and pretend you are opening the cookies
for the first time. Problem solved.

Hang on: doorbell ..........

Crap! Busted! Diane just showed up for tea while I was in the middle of the photo shoot and about to sample goodies before I sit to actually eat them. Sampling is different than eating. There are no calories in sampling - But you can still get busted. I'm just sayin'.

Thanks again Lori for such a thoughtful and tasty gift. Not only do I get to enjoy them, you saved me some time with baking and I got to brag about you on my blog. You are a great friend.

Merry Christmas to each and everyone of our followers and their families. I hope you aren't too jealous of my generous and delicious gift, but if you happen to be in the neighbourhood anytime soon (and by soon I mean before they are all gone), you might want to pop in for a little treat.

Holiday cheers!

Bonnie

Keeping It Simple

2011-12-21T10:56:00.000-05:00

For some reason it took me longer to get in the mood to decorate for the holidays this year. Some winter/Christmas items didn't come out of the totes this time around, so compared to last year I'm keeping it simple.

Let's start with the mantle in the sitting room. I went with a softer, quieter look...

The tree, a little more subdued...

A few accents in the kitchen...

My Santa display in the family room...

I think this Santa has to be the most favourite thing I have ever stitched. It always hangs on the door to greet our guests...

To me a big part of the holiday season is having a great smelling house, so lots of candles and my new Scentsy warmer which I got as a Christmas gift this year... thanks Anita!

So even though the decorations are simpler this year, I know it won't take away from the real meaning of what this time of year is all about; spending time with family and friends. Just being together with the ones we love...

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Tracey

Oh Bonnie...

2011-12-17T13:49:00.029-05:00

... how you keep us entertained with your antics!

Bonnie hosted our annual Christmas cross stitch meeting this past Wednesday evening. Tuesday night Anita, Jody and I received the following email from her. In the subject line it read: Cross Stitch - warning

Ladies, I know you will all say you don’t care… but seriously… I’m not fussing about my house.

I have vacuumed. But only because I broke a Christmas tree bulb.

I did clean out the cat box. Peee ewwww

I’ve rearranged the living room for Jody’s blanket party.

There will be food, but not of the Christmas theme.

And for goodness sakes, whatever you do – don’t’ open the fridge. Something might crawl out.

Your gifts are all wrapped, but not under the tree. I hope I can still remember where I put them before tomorrow night.

The stockings are Not hung, but the faux fire is ready.

I vacuumed the dust off the ceiling fan, just in case the fire makes Tracey too hot and we have to turn it on – don’t want to be showered by dust bunnies.

Oh, and the outdoor lights are hung – but don’t be surprised if they aren’t as festive as the neighbours.

Oh frig, I guess I could scrub the toilet.

One more sleep.

Now, as much as we all enjoy our monthly get togethers, December is always extra fun because there are gifts involved. Since there is only the 4 of us, we all buy something for the other 3 ladies. It doesn't necessarily have to be stitching related; we have no set $$ limit; and we don't always get the same thing for all 3 people.

So I grabbed all of my bags and headed out on foot over to Bonnie's house (she just lives around the corner from me). As I approached her block, I was met by all of the pretty lights twinkling in the the darkness...


What was Bonnie talking about in her email? She did a splendid job with her lights!

Oh wait... as I get closer, I realize that those are her neighbour's lights. As I step up onto her porch, I spot her festive light display...

I am the first person to arrive, so we say our hellos and Bonnie tells me to go to the back room and make myself comfortable.

There I find Sushi, our ~~possessed~~ friendly greeter waiting for the guests to arrive...


Oh no, here they are again; coming to invade my space.

Bonnie was true to her word - the fireplace was roaring...

Tracey didn't even have to shed any clothes!

Bonnie's presents weren't under the tree yet (but luckily she did find them before the end of the night)...

Bonnie's such a busy lady that she had to go with Plan B for her tree this year.

Anita was the next to arrive, so the 3 of us sat and chatted and relaxed while drinking hot spiced apple cider (yum!) while ~~impatiently~~ waiting for Jody to arrive. Where could she be? Sure enough, she had popped in for a visit to her brother's house to cuddle her 2 nephews (the newest one being just 2 months old... and grandson #8 for Jody's parents!) Since Jody lives out of town, this is quite a common occurrence when it's either Bonnie or I hosting a meeting and she has to come this way :^) Can you blame her??

So after filling our bellies with a delicious array of food, it was picture time. The photographer had arrived and we were ready to go. The sooner we got that done, the sooner we could get to the presents!!

Should we pose in front of the tree? You all saw it... it just wouldn't work, we would totally block it out. Let's go with her other tree instead :^) ...

Isn't it gorgeous??!!!


OK... how much are we paying this photographer??

Since I am going home with the photographer, he knows he'd better not leave until he gets a picture that we all like! ...

There... now that's better! Thanks Paul!

For the gift opening portion of the post I have to apologize. In all of the excitement, there were basically only 2 pictures taken by me (maybe we should have had the photographer stick around longer!). I was with Bonnie when she bought Jody's gift, and we were very anxious to see her reaction...

Yep... that's what we expected. You see Jody loves Scottie dogs and eventually one day hopes to own a real one of her own. In the meantime this cookie jar will have to do!

Now when you read Bonnie's email at the beginning of this longgggg post, you probably wondered what Jody's blanket party was all about. Well, earlier in the week Jody asked for our assistance with tying the edge of a fleece blanket to be used to sit on at hockey games (all 3 of her boys play, so that's a lot of sitting!). Sure we all said; so Anita cut and we all tied 4 blankets well into the next am. At least with doing this (as opposed to stitching) there are no worries of having to "frog" as you simply can't make a mistake! Jody can now sit through all those games with a cozy, warm tush.

You really think you are going to do this with out my help? You know how I love blankets!

One thing we didn't want to forget, was to make a toast to our fellow Stitching Sisters (this is especially for you Jayne!) who were also together celebrating that same night, many miles away from us. It won't be long until the new year is here and we'll be counting down to our Stitching Retreat together in May!!

Cheers!! Merry Christmas to our Special Stitching Friends!!

We would also like to say "cheers" and the happiest of holidays to each and every one of you that take the time to stop by and visit our blog (and all of your lovely comments too...we really appreciate it!)

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Tracey

Fiesta without the Siesta !

2011-12-13T22:56:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday our entire company had to work while the office was closed to the public in order to test our new system. The CEO said, "It's a lot to ask of our employees, we need to make the day fun. If anyone has any ideas come and see me so we can discuss them".

Now... anyone who knows me well, will know that I followed him to his office immediately after the meeting. Because it is Christmas time, I didn't want to do anything related to Christmas at all. I wanted something totally unexpected for this time of year so I suggested a Fiesta without the Siesta. I bought colourful tablecloths and napkins and I filled Margarita glasses with green mints and set them around the office. I wanted to bring in blenders and make mock Margarita's (say that three times fast), but there were so many people involved the blender would have wore out by the time we got every one served; so that one was a bust.

I decided to go to the bulk food store and get some jelly beans and the plan was to put them in a container and people had to guess how many "Mexican Jumping Beans" there were. While at the bulk food, I discovered 12" long gummy rattlesnakes. Perfect - another item for the guessing games. Then I saw the sour gummy worms and concluded, they MUST be our tequila worms. Everyone had a blast going through the office finding the many 'games' I had hidden throughout.

The Mexican food was a hit and was accompanied with Mexican music, maraca's, sombreros - and of course a Piñata. Whenever there is an all day workshop or training session at work, we always ensure there is sugar in the afternoon to help keep everyone awake after lunch. So of course, the Piñata was the best part of the day!

I don't know what made me think of this idea, but it just suddenly came to me and I couldn't stop laughing about it. I fashioned some pantyhose into feet by stuffing them with quilt batting and then I took a needle and thread and I stitched lines in them to make toes. I then fastened them to knee pads that I picked up at the dollar store. (Ya gotta love that dollar store!) Next I covered an eye mask with some beige felt and added eyes, eyebrows and a moustache. Add a sombrero and a blanket and there you have it - Mexican Midget Piñata. (Of course, I couldn't call it that at work, but I can on my blog.)

We topped the day off with a Jalapeño pepper eating contest. Good thing we had Kleenex close by because there were a lot of watering eyes. The jug of milk was readily available, and gone in no time! Sorry... no pictures for that one. Richard was happy to win because the prize was a mug full of some of his favourite chocolates from Sugar and Spice; the best chocolate store ever!

Driving home today, I was still laughing about how funny it was watching these two little Mexican midgets hobbling on their knees and blindly clinging to each other as they made their way out of the dressing room.... and I it suddenly dawned on me who they reminded me of.

Who remembers Cling and Clang who worked for HR Puff 'n Stuff as the Rescue Racer Crew, always clinging to each other and hobbling out to save the day ??

HR Puff n' Stuff, who's your friend when things get rough?

Try and get through the rest of the day without singing that. Have fun!

Bonnie

First Snowfall 2011

2011-12-09T11:42:00.003-05:00

Woke up this morning to look out my bedroom window and see a white covering of snow. Just enough to make the decorating I did outside this week look even more festive.

As I came down the stairs, I had to chuckle... I noticed these 2 snowmen smiling- peeking out of their summer (and spring, and fall) "home" as if to say... "Let us out! Winter is here!" .

I guess I'd better get busy and find them a special spot to sit for their wintertime stay...

Tracey

Better Late Than Never

2011-12-06T01:42:00.001-05:00

Rewind to December 2010. I stitched 2 ornaments-- one for my daughter, and the other for my (then) future son-in-law. Santa then tucked them into their stockings for Christmas morning.

For many years, one of our favourite Christmas films to watch as a family is "It's A Wonderful Life", so when I saw this pattern on The Sampler Girl's Blog I knew just the person to stitch it for... Chantelle.

Martin has a few different sock monkey items (which in my opinion is the start of a "collection"), so the particular pattern I chose for him was staring right at me on the cover of the 2010 issue of Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornaments.

Now, I said at the beginning of this post that I stitched the ornaments in December 2010. Fast forward to the end of November 2011 and that was when I finally got around to finishing them. I borrowed Bonnie's sewing machine and spent an evening putting them both together.

Once I got going, it didn't really take that long at all (you can see the backing material I used for each one in the first picture). I then sent them off in the mail as a little surprise for the newlyweds. I thought maybe they would like to have them as part of their Christmas decor for the month of December...

...plus don't you think it's kind of fun to get a little unexpected package in the mail during the holiday season?

Happy ornament stitching everyone! :^)

Tracey

A Change Will Do You Good

2011-11-29T16:53:00.003-05:00

While cross stitch is my #1 love (in terms of crafting), crocheting runs a pretty close second. Depends on my mood. And the weather. (Colder weather and cozy yarn just seem to go together). Sometimes it's just good to mix things up and put the stitching aside for a bit.

While perusing the Ravelry site a while back, I came across this scarf pattern that I really liked. After reading through the instructions, I thought, "I think I can follow this one", and printed it off. Well, a couple of days ago the mood struck, and the air was chilly, so I was good to go! I just happened to have the perfect yarn to use for this too... a ball that I found the day Bonnie and I had our shopping adventure. It was in the clearance section for $1.90 at Hobby Lobby marked down from $5.29!!

Even though it is considered a yarn for baby items, I found the colour and the coziness of it the perfect combination for a new scarf. As I started crocheting, I found that the pattern was extremely easy and worked up very fast which is a bonus indeed... especially since I'm sure my fingers will soon be itching to pick up that little needle again...

Tracey

TUSAL-Post #12

2011-11-25T09:44:00.001-05:00

A new moon + a new ORT jar for this second last TUSAL posting of 2011.

The perfectionist in me would have really preferred to use the same jar for the whole year, but the klutz in me just so happened to break the original one :^(

The new one I have here is actually a water goblet that belonged to my Nana. While I love it for it's sentimental value, I find it hard to see my accumulation of ORTS.

There... now you can see better...

I'll see you back here on Christmas Eve for the final TUSAL post for the year.

Happy Stitching everyone!!

Tracey

Remnants of Summer

2011-11-15T15:32:00.000-05:00

... my daughter in her wedding dress, almost 5 months ago...

... the last rose of the year from my Joseph's Coat climber...

So long summer...

Tracey

Paydirt!!

2011-11-12T21:14:00.002-05:00

Shopping this past Thursday was sure worth the trip!

My Mom and I went to the thrift store Value Village that day ... she headed to the clothes, I headed to the framed pictures and I am so glad I did!

For a grand total of just $31.56 I came home with all of these-

Now usually I am checking for frames I can re-use for my cross stitch pieces, but this time around I got a few that I will use as is in my home .

The first one I spotted was this beauty (and only $7.99!) released in 1983 by the talented Trisha Romance called "Home Again" . Who doesn't dream of having a home like this in the country in the wintertime ... lighting a fire, a pot of soup simmering on the stove and sitting down to stitch with your cup of tea while the snow gently falls outside... Such serenity!

The next one that went into my cart (for $4.99) was this pretty print of the waterfront in Toronto with the famous CN Tower in the background. When I originally saw this one, I wanted it for just the frame but at closer inspection I really liked the picture too. Perhaps it will find a new home with my daughter and son-in-law who live in Toronto?? :^)

The square frame on this next picture is what I first noticed ($5.99). Square frames seem hard to find. When I looked at the back of this one there was info about the artist Kathy Rath (who was born in the city of Sarnia not far from here). This picture is called "Loughead House" which I tried to find information about without much luck.

I'm really torn with this next one. Being a stitcher, I know the time and love we put into each piece we stitch, so it made me feel sad to see someone's needlepoint piece sitting on the shelf. I would probably re-use the frame on this one since needlepoint isn't really my taste. If there's someone out there that would be happy to give the needlepoint part of this picture a new home, send me an email!

The last three pictures I bought have quite old frames, so I was very drawn to them. They will definitely be re-used with stitched pieces of my own.

I'd better get busy stitching, so off to my chair I go!!

Tracey

Oh Libby !!

2011-11-11T14:27:00.001-05:00

I am fortunate enough to have the day off today and I decided to take advantage of my long weekend and travel to Burlington to spend the weekend at my daughter's. Unfortunately for them, they had to work today, but fortunately for Libby - because I'm here, she doesn't have to spend the day alone.

After Niki and Shawn left for work, I decided I would vacuum through the house before I began my planned day of baking cookies, whipping up some shepherd's pie and spending the afternoon cross stitching. After the vacuuming was complete and I had worked up a sweat I decided to have a nice hot shower before I got started in the kitchen.

After my shower and my daily beautification process, I felt great. I had a good night's sleep, accomplished a great deal in the early morning, cleaned up and ready to begin when - oh - oh, I was quickly reminded of what it's like to have a puppy in the house!!

I guess when I opened the closet door to vacuum inside -
I didn't shut it tight enough.

Oh, Libby .... what did you do?

Is she hanging her head in shame?
Is she trying to scoop up the pieces to help me?
Or is she simply ignoring me and thinking... hmm this piece looks good to chew?

Oh Libby, it's a good thing you're cute!

So off to the kitchen we went while I played "Let's cook and bake" and Libby played "Let's Lay Under Bonnie's Feet". Like I said, it's a good thing she's cute!

Oh yes... and I forgot to mention - twice this morning I caught her chewing on my toothbrush that she got out of my overnight bag that I had left on the spare bed. Oh Libby !
Bonnie

Can You Help?

2011-11-09T22:39:00.000-05:00

For quite some time now, I've been looking for a website to help me with a cross stitch computer program that I can safely download or perhaps purchase. So far - it's been a frustrating, exhausting and unsuccessful search and tonight it suddenly dawns on me - POST IT ON THE BLOG BONNIE!! Surely to goodness one of you crafty ladies out there has something to share !!!

There are tons of sites out there to upload a photo and create your own pattern. I discovered this some time ago and once Tracey and I got the hang of it, we were able to create our own patterns from a photo. Our favourite thus far is Pic2Pat (Picture to Pattern).

However, what I am looking for is different. I have lost a CD that I once had - that was similar to an Excel program. You could set your grids to your material count size and you simply choose a colour from the tool bar and each time you click one of the squares with the mouse it changes to that colour and you can create your own designs. Something I've been itching to do for quite some time now. I usually end up just creating something on a grid sheet with a pencil. I can't for the life of me remember what this program was called, but I wish I could find it.

Does anyone out there know what I'm talking about, or can anyone offer any suggestions where to look? Looking forward to hearing from you...

Bonnie

Death of an ORT Jar

2011-11-08T16:58:00.007-05:00

I originally intended this post being just about a new "scissor holder" I found at a thrift store a couple of weeks ago. I'm sure this isn't what this item was originally used for...guesses anyone??

I have two other typical clear glass flower frogs, but some of my scissors were too wide to fit in them properly. When I saw this sitting on the shelf in the store, I thought it might just do the trick for those scissors plus at this price I couldn't pass it by!

I decided to take a picture of all 3 frogs just for the fun of it...

Bad idea... CRASH!!!!! - as I was moving my ORT jar back to it's original location I bumped it and down to the floor it fell breaking into pieces!!!

Looks like I will be searching for a new ORT jar the next time I go shopping :^( Good thing I have a bit of time before the next new moon when it's time to post for the TUSAL again.

Speaking of the moon, isn't it a full moon in the next couple of days? Maybe I'll use that as the excuse for breaking the ORT jar (instead of my usual clumsiness)...

Tracey

Accessorize and Organize

2011-11-06T21:31:00.000-05:00

Accessories: Can't live without them!

Do you love shopping for purses, scarves and necklaces as much as I do? You don't have to take your clothes off to try on a scarf and you don't get 'static hair' when you try out a purse. Finding that 'oh-so-right' necklace that matches your favourite outfit brings such a feeling of accomplishment! The reason I love these accessories so much is because they always FIT!!

Pear-shaped women, such as myself, would rather stick needles in their eyes than shop for pants. For me - Nothing can spoil a mood faster than trying on pants. I'm either in tears or ready to go postal on someone. (Now for anyone asking themselves..."I wonder if she is eating chips as she's writing this", the answer is NO. ....I already finished them...and I'm onto the chocolate now.)

Just teasing.

Everyone knows you eat the chocolate with the chips!

Let's get back to the necklaces and scarves. Besides the fact that they are wonderful accessories, they are especially helpful to the pear-shaped woman. Why? Because it draws the onlookers eyes UP and away from the hip area. Needless to say, I have many scarves and necklaces. The problem is... How to Organize them ALL.

Once - on one of my trips to IKEA, I discovered a scarf holder that has 7 rows of circles to hold the scarves. Perfect for those types of scarves that don't matter if they wrinkle. However, most of mine look better without the wrinkles (just like my face) so I opted to look for something else. Recently, I found some velvet covered hangers at the dollar store that have multiple rungs - these work out perfect for my freshly pressed scarves and Pashminas (confession: I DO love to iron.) Added advantage - they don't slide off the hanger. Today... while purging my closet and unable to part with my many scarves - I discovered that I DO need the IKEA scarf holder after all. Good thing I'm making a trip to IKEA this weekend !! Start the car... start the car !!!!

As for my necklaces, they were either tossed into and tangled up in a basket; OR hung up with - and tangled amongst the car keys on the key holder. But, alas, I finally found something to organize my necklaces to keep them from tangling. I noticed at my friend Joanne's house that she had a necklace or two dangling from a wall hanging that was hanging above her vanity. So I searched for something 'just right' to hang on the wall and keep the necklaces separate from one another. Voila.

I love it. It's on the wall at the top of the stairs just outside my bedroom. Handy for me as I'm walking out of my room to start my day, and yet decorative enough to catch your eye. My niece came for a visit one day this summer and it caught her eye immediately, and as she was walking by she decided to accessorize herself. She loved this idea and said she was going to do the same thing at home.

Happy shopping ladies.
Bonnie

Halloween is Done for Another Year...

2011-11-05T17:20:00.003-04:00

... but my Halloween stitching is not! Looks like I will have a couple of new pieces to display for the holiday next year, since I didn't get them finished last month.

I bought this pattern last year when I fell in love with it at first sight! As you can see, it has all the elements of that perfect Halloween picture... along with a witch stitching too... what fun!!

"Witches Stitch Too!!" by Homespun Elegance

I found this frame on one of my recent visits to Goodwill and I think it will be just the right fit for this piece when it's done. Might have to change the colour of it though... what do you think? Surely couldn't leave it there for $3.99! (actually it only cost me $2.00... 50% off and no tax!!)

My sweet hubby saw it and thought I bought it because I wanted the whole picture. When I explained to him how much I can save by framing some things myself, he now understands and will probably be on the lookout for used frames in his travels! :^)

So with Halloween over and everything packed away, my fireplace mantel looked pretty sad. Yesterday I moved some of my autumn decor around and added a few new items too; the metal pumpkin I bought for $12.00 on the day of my shopping adventure with Bonnie, the cute little wooden HOME plaque which was a birthday gift from Jody, and the darling owl garland I just bought on clearance at the grocery store for $2.97!!

There now- I'm content to relax a bit and leave things the way they are until it's time to decorate for that BIG holiday in December...

Tracey

Can you guess what this is? #4 - The Reveal.

2011-11-04T00:30:00.032-04:00

ok ok... enough with the suspense - Tell us what it is !

You wouldn't think that changing the sheets on the bed would be that noisy, but for some reason it seems to attract Sushi quicker than hearing the can opener. She loves to get under the sheets as I'm making the bed and she lays on her back with all fours in the air. Then I take my fingers and I tickle the bed sheets and she chases my hand. I'm not sure which one of us is more amused by this. This day, I decided to catch her in her hi-jinx and I slipped the camera under the sheets to capture her in action.

This cat amuses me more than my cable network !!
I should just cancel the cable and save myself some money.
Bonnie

Can you guess what this is? #3

2011-11-03T00:30:00.003-04:00

How about this one... does that help you guess what this is? Stay tuned for the answer tomorrow.

Can you guess what this is? #2

2011-11-02T00:30:00.002-04:00

Second Clue.
Does this help you guess what it is??

Can you guess what this is? #1

2011-11-01T00:30:00.002-04:00

Can you guess what this is??

Stay tuned for more hints.

Falling Leaves on Fright Night

2011-10-30T00:12:00.002-04:00

Before Halloween slips away, I wanted to show you two of my recent finishes for the season... Falling Leaves and Fright Night.

Well, if you want to get technical, they're really not finished finished. They both need to be put in their frames yet, plus the cat and the 3 little bats all need eyes (which I will do when I get the gold beads that I have on order).

You've seen me post my progress on Falling Leaves before, but for some reason I never showed Fright Night as I was working on it. I have many Halloween patterns that I want to stitch in my lifetime, so why did I pick this one you ask? Well, it all started with a frame. An old frame that I bought at a thrift store for next to nothing... I just couldn't leave it there! When I went through my patterns, I thought this one would be the perfect fit for that particular frame- with a bit of "tweaking" of course.

If you look at the pattern here and compare it to the finished piece, you will notice that in order to accommodate the size of this frame, I added the black and orange border (plus the cute little green buttons in the corners!)

Since I am still feeling in the Halloween mood, a couple of days ago I just had to start something new from my stack of spooky patterns.

I'll wait and show you that one another day...

Tracey

TUSAL- Post #11

2011-10-26T11:05:00.002-04:00

As 2011 draws nearer to the end, it seems like the months are flying by quicker all the time!

This crisp fall weather makes me want to stay inside with the candles lit and my stitching in hand... and my picture for this month's TUSAL has the evidence to prove it!

Off to my stitching chair I go! :^)

Tracey

Lucky Me... Again!

2011-10-23T11:27:00.005-04:00

If you read Bonnie's last post about our shopping adventure, Bonnie mentioned that I had been very lucky lately and that we had hoped by purchasing a lottery ticket at the start of our day my luck would carry on. You're probably thinking, Tracey's posting to tell us about their big lotto win!... unfortunately that's not the case - we didn't win a thing- nothing, nada, not even a free ticket! What I have been lucky with the past month or so are give-aways.

At the beginning of September I entered Peggy's give-away at her blog called Never Enough Stash! and I wanted to share a picture of the wonderful goodies I got in my package when it arrived in the mail.

Magazines! Fabrics! Threads! Charms! A hoop!- Oh my! (Sorry... I didn't getting a picture of the yummy Utah mint chocolate truffle before I ate it.) Thanks again Peggy!! I'm sure everything will be put to good use.

I love candles. Especially ones that smell like you've been baking something when you haven't been (have tricked my hubby with that one on a number of occasions, much to his dismay). One of my favourite brands is Country Home Candle, made right here in Ontario Canada. So I decided to enter a contest they were having to promote their new fall scents, and lo and behold I was one of the lucky winners! (I actually have Autumn Trail burning right now... smells awesome!!)

You never know when your luck will run out, but hey- I'll probably keep entering contests for the fun of it anyway. And those lottery tickets? I'll probably keep buying them too...

A girl can dream, can't she??

Tracey

Tracey and Bonnie's Shopping Adventure Oct 21.11

2011-10-22T12:29:00.002-04:00

Each spring and each fall, Tracey and I venture off to the ‘states’ for our annual Birthday Outing Day. And when I say day, I really mean it. We left at 7:45am yesterday and we returned home at 10pm. Paul can’t imagine how we can spend that much time shopping, but I’m sure most of you ladies can!!

It’s a crafter’s delight and it isn’t hard filling time at Mary Maxim’s, Joanne Fabrics and what we refer affectionately to as Hobbly Lobbly,. A few years back, Anita, Jody, Tracey and I decided to take a day trip and then the day trip extended into a two day trip with an overnight stay. Anita and Jody mentioned that they had never been to Hobby Lobby and that pretty much sealed the deal for us; Tracey and I were excited to join them on their virgin visit of this fantastic store. In one of our many pre-trip emails -- one of us --who shall remain nameless -- accidentally, and in her excitement typed, “I can’t wait to see Hobbly Lobbly”. The name has stuck with us ever since. On this particular, trip I insisted that one of our first stops was a dollar store. I immediately went to the party section and selected 4 different coloured rolls of curling ribbon. Made our purchase, got out to the car, took out the cross stitch scissors and proceeded cutting all the ribbon into 6 inch strips and grouped them all together with one of the cuttings. No one could figure out what I was doing and I said… get us to the next store and by that time I’ll be finished. So we arrive at the store and I handed them all their own colour of ribbon and I said, “Now, put these in your purse and every bag you purchase, pull one of the ties out and tie your own colour onto the handle. That way when we unpack at the end of the trip, we all know whose bag is whose and we don’t have to open everything to sort it out” It was a fantastic system and I’m sure you can only imagine the number of bags that filled Anita’s van after 4 women shopped for two days at craft stores.

Yesterday's adventure with Tracey and I started out somewhat comical. We planned to leave early, head straight to Cracker Barrel for a hearty breakfast to get us started and then hit the strip of our favourite stores. Each time we head out on an adventure we stop and get what we hope is a lucky lottery ticket and Tracey has been on such a winning streak lately we thought that should be our first stop. We stop, Tracey gets the ticket and as she hands it to me to sign we burst out laughing. As I had reached over to take the ticket we discovered that I had my shirt on inside out! We pull out of the parking spot and swung around to the back of the building and she said, “Where are you going?” I said, “Back here to flip my shirt around” – at which point we discovered the truck driver unloading a truck and so I promptly turned around, scooted across the road behind ‘Scotty’s Fish and Chips’ because at 7:45am – no one is eating fish and chips. I started to undress, a car drove past and between the laughter Tracey said, “Why don’ you just wait until we get to Cracker Barrel” Meanwhile I’m thinking…’Sure.. because what are the chances of us being called into a Random Search at the border crossing.” Lucky for me, that didn’t happen this time, but it has happened to me twice now. Randomly. Twice. Go figure.

We arrive at Cracker Barrel: first stop – the washroom. Flip that shirt around! Have a quick browse, eat and go back and browse some more. The first browse through allows the opportunity for a 30 minute window to think about what you want to buy. No "30 day think about it" rule applies at Cracker Barrel. You see it, you better pick it up quick because it might not be there in the next 30 days. So we allow the "30 minute rule" at this location. Ladies, I know you can relate. If there are any men reading – you’ll never figure it out, so best that you just get over it now.

We go to the restaurant, notice the special on the board and proceed to our seats. We get settled in and our lovely, perky, young and friendly server immediately asks if we want the special. “No thanks, we’ll take a look at the menu” The response was, “take your time – I’ll be back in 1 minute.” She left - Tracey and I looked at each other and burst out laughing and she said, ‘Take your time Bonnie, you have 1 minute” . Now for those of you who have been to Cracker Barrel for breakfast, you can’t even get through that delicious menu in 30 minutes! I believe it is because it is set up this way on purpose to allow for the 30 minute rule. So…anyway… I knew what I wanted, but I didn’t see the combination on the menu so the lovely, perky, young and friendly waitress kindly accommodated my taste buds. We were too busy eating our breakfast to take a picture of all the food, and we filled our bellies while we contemplated our 'first browse' purchases.

About ¼ of the way into our meal, our lovely, perky, young and friendly server stopped by to ask if everything was ok, was satisfied with our mumbled “mmmm hmmm” – slid the meal check under the edge of our plates and said, “no hurry at all, here’s your check”. We tried not to choke to death as we laughed with food in our mouth because that really would have put a damper on our shopping excursion. First find of the day, Tracey was excited to find a purple purse - on sale!!

Holy Cow, it’s only 10am and we’ve still got 12 hours to go. I better speed this story up.

First stop – a Dollar Store. I had mentioned to Tracey that I was looking for something in particular and can’t believe our luck when we found it only 20 seconds into the store!
I discovered a deal: at the local US grocery store – Chiclets gum is 39 cents a package; Dollar Store has 6 packs for $1. Woo Whoo, I saved $14.00 (I needed lots – will disclose later)
Leave Dollar Store – Tracey walks away without her purchase.
Get to car – Tracey discovers her $1 card was on sale for 50 cents. (p.s. why isn’t there a cents’ symbol on the keyboard?)
Organizing our money, receipts etc as we are sitting in the car: Tracey exclaims “this money has a smell!” I said, “I notice that too, must be the ink” yuck
Next step – get out the hand sanitizer.
Next stop – Mary Maxim’s – Can’t disclose what we bought due to secret Santa gifts etc, but suffice it to say: there were fantastic finds and enormous savings involved. Killed at least 2 hours just in this store. Tracey spent much of the time teaching me about yarn, and I spent much of the time picking up all the things that my cape kept catching on (note to self – leave the cape home next year)
Tracey was on a mission for buttons to finish her latest project (reveal will be posted before Halloween) and I was on ‘mission impossible’ for frames for two projects that are odd sizes and I think we’re looking at custom framing now (groan…was hoping to do these on my own) :-(
Found some pictures with fantastic verses: Bonnie forged them for Tracey to cross stitch – watch for those upcoming reveals… LOL
I’m drawn to Bling. Anything that blings or sparkles – I’m all over it. It’s kind of like ADD. I can be looking at something – bling will be on the other side of the room and my eye immediately goes in that direction. I asked Tracey to take a picture of this lovely display that will be housed in my new mansion upon collecting the winnings from our lucky lottery ticket. (Hint: Kathy G – your daughter might be interested in this display)

Next stop: Hobbly Lobbly. Where to start? Go left, go right, go straight, circle the outside and wind your way back through the middle? Or start at the back and work your way front or start at the front and work your way back. Conclusion: start at the front and work your way back - circle the outside and wind your way back through the middle until you are at the back again and have to work your way to the front to the cash registers – Good plan. This allows for the 30 minute rule several times because it takes you about 6 rounds minimum.
Half way through Tracey says, “We better get another cart” What the hell were we thinking in the first place? Note to self: Never start with one cart! – Although it does allow more time to hit a few extra rows on the way to the carts and back again.
We stopped to look at a decorative sign, read it again. And by the third time I said, ´What the hell does that mean anyway?” We bitched about that for awhile and concluded that signs that require that much thinking don’t belong at Hobbly Lobbly. Then I decided that I am going to carry post-it notes in my purse at all times and leave them all over stores, all over the country side with my comments on them. Next time you are shopping and you see a comment on a ridiculously worded sign – you’ll know I was there!
Found some buttons, but still leaving the option open for the perfect ones – Reminder: Tracey – cancel that on-line order that has been backordered for 8 months now and you are still waiting.
Screamed when we found some ‘perfect’ Christmas gifts. Loud enough to startle some, but not loud enough to alert security.
Tracey went in the direction of yarn and I went in the direction of hoops. I needed a small hoop to replace the one I’ve been borrowing from Tracey for weeks now. Found a hoop!! Also found Tracey 15 minutes later, coming around the corner with every colour hoop you can imagine on her arm,(for a minute I thought she had mistaken the jewelry section) and she exclaimed “Found the hoops, what colour would you like?” I pointed to the hoop in my cart, she laughed and headed back to the hoop section to put them back.
Found some neat ‘hoop-tape’ for cross stitchers to put on their hoop so that fabric does not slip; adhesive on one side, grip on the other, guaranteed not to leave residue on the hoop or material. One package left… too narrow for our hoops and Q-Snaps – on another mission for hoop tape now. Must involve Anita and Jody on this mission. More eyes needed.
Tracey found a new friend at Hobbly Lobbly. Each time Tracey finds an item, she likes to compare it to the others ones that are the same to make sure she has found the best one; no cracks, scratches, dents or bruises. Tracey has a good eye for this. Upon turning the corner of one aisle, we almost bumped into a lady who had set down several large Santa’s off the self and onto the floor – so she could compare them. Immediate connection; I think they exchanged emails and phone numbers when I wasn’t looking.
Every purchase at Hobbly Lobbly was anywhere from 40-65% off; we were happy. And the only two items that were full price – we got to use our on-line 40% off regular priced item coupons. Wooo Whooo
Time for a break and a Star Buck's ‘mini-orgasm’ – Tracey got a hot chocolate and a pumpkin spice mini bunt cake and I had a Vanilla Bean drink with a lemon-cherry coffee cake. YUM
Tracey has been searching at Staples for clear plastic, zip up envelopes so she can ‘Kit-Up’ some cross stitch projects. No luck in Canada, and guess what store just happens to be next to Star Bucks? Found the envelopes AND they were on sale. Success times two!! We both cashed in on that find.
Off to Target we go. I in search of our traditional Christmas pajamas for the girls and Tracey on a mission for the latest Martina McBride CD that has bonus tracks ONLY at Target.
It’s about 6pm now and we’re off to Kohl’s. Both of us on a mission. I picked up fuzzy pj’s for me – and carried them around until I found the dressing room. Wasn’t happy with the fit, or the fact that all the fuzz was now…all over my cape and pants.
Final stop: Joanne Fabrics. One last look for the perfect buttons and one final attempt for ‘hoop-tape’
Upon reaching this final destination – Tracey went to get out of the car only to notice this….

Joanne’s was the only unsuccessful stop of the day. Other than the laughter of the disheveled dog in the pink leopard print cape.
Heading home to Canada now… hoping we don’t have a long wait at the bridge because we’re getting hungry now!
No line up, but we did get pulled into Customs. Not sure if we got pulled in because of the many hours out of the country, or the fact that we had the nerve to interrupt the customs officer that was gabbing on the phone when we pulled up to cross. Groan, but oh well. Well worth the savings and finds for the day!
Stopped at Stokes Inland for a yummy bowl of Cream of Broccoli soup and a dinner entre to end the day.
Dropped Tracey off and headed home and right to the tub for a good long soak. Nodded off several times in the tub and decided it was time to call it a day before I drowned. A GOOD Day!!

Cant’ wait until NEXT YEAR! Anita and Jody – let’s see about rearranging your schedules. You missed out on way too much fun!

The Reveal Continued...

2011-10-19T16:12:00.002-04:00

A few posts back, I showed you the piece I had stitched as a graduation gift for my daughter. The framing is now finished, so we wanted to make a trip to Toronto to deliver the completed project.

We had already made plans to visit beautiful Niagara-On-The-Lake this past Saturday, so on Sunday we made our way to Toronto.

During our travels, I couldn't resist snapping some pics of the pretty fall decor...

Chantelle loved how the picture came together- and her hubby did too! :^)

Tracey

Who's Your Mummy?

2011-10-13T16:45:00.000-04:00

Last night I hosted our monthly cross stitch meeting, and as usual we had a blast with non-stop talking, lots of laughs and eating.

If you've been following our blog for a while now, you may have read in a previous post (or two) where we talked about the unexpected giving of gifts at these meetings.

Well, it just so happened last night was one of those nights and Jody was one of the "givers".

Since Halloween is creeping closer every day, Jody decided to go with the spooky theme and handed each of the 3 of us one of these mummies that she made...

Aren't they just the cutest --and so simple to make too!! She just wrapped vet tape around the glass container and stuck on the wiggly eyes. We spent the next few minutes discussing what we could use them for... candy? a candle?... any suggestions out there??

Hmmm... maybe I could switch out my regular glass ort jar (that I've been using for the TUSAL) with my new mummy friend. If that's the case, I'd better get stitching so I can fill him up!!

Tracey

De-LITE-ful

2011-10-12T06:39:00.000-04:00

Three years ago, my daughter got married on October 4th in our back yard. As you can see from the photo below, we had decorated the gardens with some grapevine trees that were adorned with twinkle lights. Simply turn a tomato cage upside down, twist the grapevine all around it and top it off with some garden lights. Voila! Simple, elegant and delightful.

The next weekend when the bride and groom had returned home from their honeymoon, they picked up my other two daughters and they all went out of town for the day.

When everyone is gone and I'm all alone, it's those quiet moments that I become most creative; I had a whim and I decided to decorate for Halloween. I dug through the 'tickle-trunk' costume box...

... And this is what greeted everyone upon their arrival home. They were all laughing in the car as they were driving up the street towards the house. We giggled off and on all night about these two de-LITE-ful creatures. Every once in awhile, I would go to the front door just to have a peak at them. Too cute!

Bonnie

Trick or Treat

2011-10-10T21:58:00.001-04:00

A few years ago, I decided to do something different with my pumpkins for Halloween. I wanted to share this idea with you early in the month in case you get a yearning to copy this idea. All you need is 12 pumpkins, 12 candles, your carving knife, scoop and a drill. (and of course, a glass of wine helps too).

It's a little hard to make out the words in this photo.
Let's turn the camera flash off shall we....

Hmmmm, looks like Rick or Reat....Does Scoobie Doo live here?
Lets zoom in a bit shall we...

That's a little bit better.

It was a pretty cool idea and all the little goblins that stopped by... the ones who could read anyway... loved it. So did their parents. Happy carving !!

Bonnie

Face The Day

2011-10-07T11:20:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I've posted a new face, and now I have 2 to share!

While at work last week (I've recently started babysitting 2 little boys), I was unloading the dishwasher at their house. Since I'm still learning what dish goes in what cupboard, I sometimes just leave certain items sitting on the counter. I had set a few things down, and when I glanced over I noticed I had (unintentionally) done this:

My hubby said he wants to get in on the search too, so he has been on the lookout for faces (do you think maybe he feels a little left out when it comes to the blog?? LOL) The other night I passed by the laundry room and saw this on the top of the dryer:

I did a double take, and then burst right out laughing!! I guess Paul figures if he can't find a face out there, he will just make one on his own! :^)

If you could see my face today (well maybe not right this second- no make-up on yet...), you would definitely see a big smile. We are having another gorgeous, warm, fall day and it sounds like the same for the next 3 days!

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Tracey

Seasonal Stitchery & Decor

2011-10-02T00:39:00.004-04:00

I've changed things around a bit on my autumn/Halloween mantle this year. I've added more of my cross stitch pieces- two of which you may remember from last year, and the small one on the right is newly framed for display this year.

The black letter "H" does double duty-- stands for "H"alloween, and is also the first letter of our surname :^)

I picked up this little black frame for Alphabet Pumpkin (by JBW Designs) at HomeSense for $5.99. I'm always on the lookout for square frames; especially black ones. Kind of like that little black dress... it always seems to work!

I still have a bit more decorating to do, but I wanted to kick things off with the mantle which is the focal point of our sitting room.

For even more fall themed inspiration grab a coffee, take a break, and head on over to visit Layla at The Lettered Cottage where I'm linked up to her Autumn Link Party:

Tracey

Fall Fair Time

2011-10-01T10:31:00.002-04:00

This past weekend was our annual Fall Fair and we were lucky enough to have sunny, warm weather that was just perfect for it!

For as long as I've known her, Bonnie has always entered something in the fair, and for years she has been trying to convince the rest of us in our cross stitch group to do the same. So, this year Anita and I decided to give it a whirl. We hoped it would make Bonnie ~~quit bugging us~~ very happy! :^)

Anita won 2nd place on her pretty place mats she sewed, and 1st place (plus the special ribbon!) on her cross stitched biscornu!!


Way to go Anita!!


A biscornu is an 8 sided pincushion, and the word is derived from a French adjective meaning "skewed, quirky or irregular".


Flip it over and see the 4 little frogs and bumblebees... how cute!!

I was lucky enough to get 2nd on my cross stitch angel picture, 1st place on my Halloween wall hanging, and 1st place (plus special) on my Forest cross stitch picture!

Hopefully next year Jody will join in on the fun and enter some of her finished projects too.

Now what did Bonnie enter this year you ask? Absolutely nothing!! Do you think maybe she was just a teeny tiny bit afraid of losing out to the rest of us??... I don't think so!! She actually joked to me and said she wondered if that's what people would be thinking when they saw that she didn't enter anything at all this year...

Gotta love small towns :^)

Tracey

TUSAL- Post #10

2011-09-27T10:27:00.000-04:00

It's that time again- the start of a new moon and therefore a new TUSAL update.

I now have some new fall-like colours added to the jar after having quite a pile of purple threads from To Laugh Often.

Off to enjoy a beautiful sunshiney fall day!! :^)

Tracey

Progress on Falling Leaves

2011-09-24T20:45:00.001-04:00

I was just sitting down to stitch, so I thought I'd share my progress on Falling Leaves. I started this almost three weeks ago, and I'm really loving the colours.

Even though it seems like this pattern would be a straight-forward simple stitch, believe it or not I've had to do my share of frogging on this one :^)

Hope everyone is enjoying their last weekend of September 2011!

Tracey

The Reveal

2011-09-18T22:31:00.001-04:00

I started this cross stitch pattern back in February 2011, and finally finished it this past week! I was dying to share my progress as I went along, but since this was a surprise graduation gift for my daughter Chantelle (who follows our blog) I had to keep it under wraps.

"To Laugh Often" stitched on 32ct Belfast Linen "Mountain Rose Expressions" by Silkweaver

Stitched using Vikki Clayton silk variegated hand dyed fibers in "Bemused" and "Maid of the Vineyard"

I had yet to frame it, so when Chantelle decided to come home to visit for a couple of days we headed to the Thread & Eye to pick out a frame. We just kept it simple and decided a on basic black frame because there was already so much going on with the fabric and variegated floss. Can't wait to see the finished product!

Since we were already in the city, we stopped by HomeSense for a look around. When we walked in and started checking things out, I came to the realization that this was Chantelle's first ever visit to this amazing store! They had a lot of neat Halloween stuff on display, so that's where we started shopping. Owls seem to be all the rage this year, so I just had to share a picture of the cute items she purchased--

We both squealed when we spotted this cute little fella at the bottom of the mug :^)

What fun we had! When we got back home, it didn't take long for Chantelle to get online and start searching for the closest store location to where she lives. I can guarantee this first visit to HomeSense won't be her last!! :^)

Tracey

Inspiration

2011-09-12T11:59:00.009-04:00

Fall is my favourite season. I just love the crispness in the air, and all the beauty that surrounds you when you look outside at the ever changing colours in the landscape.

I was getting the urge to stitch something autumn related, so I had a look through my patterns. I came across this free chart from DMC called Falling Leaves that I have always loved, and thought it would be the perfect choice.

When I looked at the colours that were recommended for the pattern, I just knew I had to change them. Even though the leaves aren't true "maple" leaves, those maple leave colours are what I envisioned when I first saw this pattern.

So outside I went, to the maple tree in our front yard and chose this leaf as my inspiration...

Gentle Art Sampler Threads: Avocado, Burnt Orange and Gold Leaf

It has been a fun, quick stitch so far, and when it's complete I will have a little piece of autumn inside with me year round.

Tracey

2011-09-11T00:22:00.000-04:00

9.10.11 - Unique Wedding

2011-09-10T22:51:00.000-04:00

I just got home from my friends very unique wedding and I couldn't wait to download the pictures. Brook wanted to be married on this day so she could say she was married on 9.10.11. When she told me, I said "Why stop there... why not get married at 12:13." We got a little chuckle over that.

The wedding was held at the Warwick Conservation Area. It was a beautiful setting and the weather was picture perfect. Canada geese covered the lake in the background and the trees made a beautiful canopy. The sun peaked through the tree tops and it glistened off the lake in the background. After the ceremony, guests were entertained by a wagon ride throughout the conservation area while the wedding party had their photos taken.

Ok... let's get on the with picture show. Let's start with the Wedding Itinerary that doubles as a fan to cool yourself while watching the ceremony. Fantastic idea !!

While waiting for the ceremony to begin... there was so much to look at, you almost didn't know where to begin. This unique display shows you how to find your table seating. You may have to click on the picture to read the instructions.

Inside the tent every single table was set differently. Each plate was different at every setting. All the linens were unique to each table, the water jugs, silverware - everything. And the teapots and pails served as the centerpieces for the flower arrangements.

Now onto the Registry Table. I Love this look.... you know me and the Victorian style....

My Table Marker and Napkin - so pretty.

Now here's the part I really LOVE. The bride made all the bouquets herself. She made them out of brooches. Some of the brooches in her bouquet had belonged to her grandmother. I picked up the bouquet to take a picture of it and man... was it Heavy!

Let's top off that bling bouquet with a little bling footware.

Her daughter, the Jr. Maid of Honour carried a slightly different version to suit her style. Doesn't she look just like her mother? Very pretty Brennah!

This is the Maid of Honour's bouquet. I love how unique this is. Amanda looks so happy in the picture below. Brook knew right away this is what she wanted for the bouquets for her wedding. She should be a wedding planner, she has some very unique ideas.

The Dinner Menu was propped up against a tree and written on a chalk board and sitting on a wash tub. Oh my goodness, the meal was fantastic!

The meal was topped off with a cake made by the bride's mother and her daughter, and several varieties of homemade pies made by the grooms mom. It was really hard to decide just what to have for dessert.

Wait a second... is that what I think it is.... ? Oh my goodness, look at the table favours.

Chocolate / Caramel covered candy apples. Yum!! All of the invitations, thank you cards, table markers etc were made by the bride.

Best Wishes to the Happy Couple. Brook and Tim Wiles.

Bonnie

That Fall Feeling

2011-09-09T12:39:00.002-04:00

This past Wednesday night was our monthly cross stitch meeting. It was Anita's turn to host, and we had the special treat of spending the evening in the darling log cabin that they have on their property.

The cabin is equipped with all the necessities you would need to spend a few days there, and Anita has decorated the interior to make it feel all warm and inviting.

Anita is one talented lady! Not only does she cross stitch, she quilts, sews, knits and crochets among other things!! One of the things that catches your eye when you first walk in, is this beautiful, colourful quilt that Anita custom made to fit above the sofa. The leaf motif fits in perfectly with the woods surrounding the cabin, and gives the room that wonderful fall feeling.

She also made these cute little curtains with some of the same fabric along with a co-ordinating runner for the table.

Notice how the little bowls match the colours in the fabric??... Perfect! :^)

It was another great night spent together with laughter, yummy food, stitching and most of all friendship. Thanks again to Anita for being such a gracious hostess!

Tracey

Lucky Me!

2011-09-04T11:41:00.001-04:00

A little over a month ago, I was over at Rose Tinted Enchantments visiting Jon Lee's blog. She had posted about having purchased two of the same kit of The Magic Forest by Elsa Williams. Since she only needed the one, she said that if someone was interested in having the other one, all they had to do was be the first person to make a comment and ask for it. Well it turned out I was that lucky person!!

Now along with the kit, Jon Lee said she would also include some fabric, patterns and a few other surprises. WOW... was I SURPRISED!!

When my package arrived, it was chock full of goodies...

Four pieces of fabric (love the yummy colours)...

Five patterns (2 of these even included the threads - most of them silk - to stitch with)...

Thanks again to Jon Lee for adding a bright spot to my day with her generosity!!

Tracey

TUSAL- Post #9

2011-08-29T15:25:00.001-04:00

Happy to report that the month of August was much more productive than the previous month was :^)

Tracey

Sushi loves to Cross Stitch!

2011-08-21T11:30:00.000-04:00

Going through old photos last week, I came across some of when Sushi was once helping me to cross stitch. I just had to post them to see if they make you smile.

Sushi appears to be seriously studying the material count.
She wants to know just where to begin her stitching project.

Anxious to get started, the look on her face tells me
to get my hands OUT of her way.
This is one serious stitching cat.

I can't wait to see how much help she is going to be when I start my 24 page pattern of "Clora". And for those of you who follow regularly.... note I said, when I start.... (I'm dragging my heals, can you tell?)
Bonnie

Tis the Season

2011-08-18T11:00:00.004-04:00

I decided to buy this pretty book by Blackbird Designs about a year ago when I fell in love with one of the patterns in it. This pattern just so happens to have one of my favourite red birds in it (see last post).

Cover Picture

The odd time when I pick a new pattern to stitch, the supplies for that piece can be quite pricey. This is one of those times. So I bought what I needed in stages- with the fabric being Stage #2...

32ct. Pear by Lakeside Linens

Stage #3- About a month ago I was itching to buy something "stitchy" (more so than usual), so I thought this would be the perfect time to buy the silk floss I needed. This is the first time I've ever tried Belle Soie floss by Crescent Colours... they feel heavenly to the touch- and such pretty colours. Can't wait to actually stitch with them!

Notice the cute little gold flowerpot scissors? Well, they just happened to fall into my "cart" while shopping online :^) ... a girl can always use a new pair of scissors, right?

Now when will I begin to stitch this you ask; now that I have all my supplies together ?? That's a good question...

I will keep you posted...

Tracey

The Beauty of Nature

2011-08-14T10:14:00.012-04:00

A few weeks ago we noticed a new nest in the little tree just outside our front window. Since this time we have been watching a mommy cardinal sitting on her eggs, patiently waiting for her new family to emerge. Sure enough, about 10 days ago, we noticed 3 little heads poking up above the nest, anxiously awaiting their next feeding from their mommy and daddy.

It is so amazing how quickly they grow! This past Wednesday when we had our monthly cross stitch meeting here, Bonnie and I were watching the babies get their evening meal. When Bonnie stopped by yesterday (just 3 days later), she could hardly believe it when she saw that those babies were now out of the nest, full of feathers hopping around and flying!

(It was so hard to get good pictures through the window because of the angle... lots of glare.)

Mealtime

Daddy keeping watch from the maple tree

Baby out of the nest

A day older... waiting for food

Here comes mommy with some

It has been so much fun watching the progression of this beauty of nature.

I'm going to be sad to see the little ones go...

Tracey

(As I was typing this post, we could hear both the mommy and daddy frantically chirping out front... when we looked there were 2 neighbourhood cats lurking close by!! Will have to be on close watch the next couple of days...)