Turn That Frown Upside Down

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

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

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!!

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:

1. To get 1 chance - you must be a follower, and leave a comment on this post only.
2. To get another chance - write about our Give-Away on your blog (either in a post, or on your sidebar).
3. 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).
4. 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!

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?

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.

 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

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