Disaster Averted or Making Busy's Table Runner

Its done, its done, its done and I am so happy. Its been such fun to make this runner because I tried paper piecing for the first time and I am hooked on that now. I have bought a pattern book now that I have tried it and I will be practicing up my technique on this. I see many lovely creations in my future.

Back to the runner. I was happily tootling along with this project and then CRISIS OF ASTRONOMICAL PROPORTIONS!! I was six inches short on the main colour. ARRRGH!!!! What is the problem you say? Go to the store and get some more you say?? Pfft!!! Well smartypants, I bought the material more than a year ago and I bought it in another province. I was doomed!!! I cannot believe that this happened to me, I always buy too much material. (Banged head repeatedly on sewing table). Then I remembered that yes I had not purchased enough of the main colour but I had over bought one of the lesser colours. Once again I loved me and my excessive ways. The sun came out, the angels sang and all was well with the world again.

Here is the finished project my very first paper pieced creation. There are some flaws but all in all I am happy with the results and I will be doing this technique again. The pattern is called Midnight Cactus ( the pattern said to use black, blue and  purple, I went with Busy's home decor colours)

See all those pale green triangles, they should be beige but don't tell anyone I screwed up

All in all I am happy with it and I am hoping that she will like it as well. Best of all it is finished and ready to be delivered on Thanksgiving weekend.

Another wonderful thing that has happened in this house is that I have finally figured out how to fix the drain  that I managed to yank right out of the bottom of the shower. I am a tad rammy at times when I go to do something and then I am left with a mess I need to clean up. I know how to clean this one up now and I could not be happier. No calling a plumber and no replacing anything. I can use what is already there and get the drain to stay put. It just took a trip to the basement yesterday to check things out and a little googling and I know what to do now. Currently the drain is soaking in the kitchen because it is rather yucky and I want to give it a good clean before I put it back in place. Another trip to the basement is good because I can shut off the water to the outside tap that I forgot to look after yesterday.

Last night I and about 40 other people headed to a local British style pub to celebrate Teddy Bear's birthday. The No Cook gals were there and some folk from the building I work in and some people I know from my old job. We had a lovely time. Got to met the Banker's new man and he passed muster, brave man that he was sitting with all the No Cook Ladies.  He seems to be a very nice man and she seems to be thrilled with him. It is a lovely thing to see her so happy. The party was a complete surprise to Teddy Bear, she was speechless and totally pleased. 

Speaking of my friend the Banker, she is off to Toronto today to do the edge walk at the CN Tower, the nut burger!! She is taking her grandson with her and it will be interesting to see if he will manage it. He was more scared than she was. I just hope they both come home in one piece.

Today was quiet. The Hostess and I went to an open house just so we could snoop around a house that her nephew built. It was lovely!! Then a spot of shopping and we rounded out the day with an iced coffee. Yum. I bought myself two new shirts for work and left a lovey red number at the store because it was not really a work thing so to buy it would have been just an indulgence. I cannot afford to do that right now. Still paying for the school reunion weekend fun 

I have had a lovely weekend!! I hope your's was as well. 

Toodles

Linda

Purging, Purging, Purging

I have finally started!! My weekend plans changed so I decided to make very good use of this gift of time and I would start on this purging project that I have pondered on and fussed over and obsessed over for longer than needed to be. Today I started. Hummingbird got me going bright and early. Thanks for the kick start.

She needed to borrow my air compressor. Borrowing the air compressor means a trip to my basement. In any other house this is quick and easy, in my house its an adventure. So I was up early, moved the eleventy million things that sit on the celler door, organized all the stuff that needed to go down there and hauled the compressor up. FABULOUS!! (in the best sense of the word). I got stuff put away, I made room, I got the smoke alarm battery changed, its was glorious and I did a little dance of joy. Then I decided while I was up and going I would purge the bathroom. Step one of the plan.

Like any other female in this world I have tons of stuff in my bathroom that is old, out of date and should not be used on one's person. It was time for it all to go. I have two lovely big cupboards in my bathroom that are full of said stuff. I present to you the before pictures:

Yikes

Oh look empty spaces

So armed with a garbage bag and a donation box, I went to work. It did not take long, as usual. You would think I could remember that little tid bit of information from one project to the other but I never seem to. I like to think its going to be a massive job and it will take hours. I get to be more of a martyr that way. So jumping in with both feet first, I got stuck in  and this was the end result.

Lots of empty spaces

Now the "not often used" stuff is tucked in the far cupboard.

It is a far better use of space.

Now in my last blog post I mentioned moving a tiered table into the living room. I have this space behind my favourite chair that is wasted real estate and in my small house all the storage space I can grab is greatly needed.I moved this little white metal table from the laundry room to its new home, a perfect fit. Dance of joy ensued.

For a long time I had been looking for something to fit back there but could not find anything to buy. This is something I have to work on about myself. I am so quick to think I need to "buy" something, Instead of looking around the house, taking some time and not being so quick to flash the cash. The metal table was a perfect fit and it saved me some money.I figured I would have to go buy some baskets or something to use on it to store stuff and make it tidy. There I go again, quick to the mark to think I have to spend more money. Stop it already!!

While I was upstairs kicking hell out of the bathroom I wandered into the spare room to find something. There on the floor sat a pile of DVD storage boxes I purchased at IKEA some time ago but no longer needed for the DVD's. Pretty tidy little boxes, piled on the floor, doing nothing but being in the way. Hmm, something in my head said they would fit on the white table. I had my doubts but tried them and they are a perfect fit. (Third dance of joy of the day) So there I had what I needed to do what I needed without having to spend a dime.

Made to measure,a perfect fit AND free,

not a bad deal.

The boxes are currently empty but trust me they will find things to hold soon enough. No doubt about that in this house. Well I need to go rustle up some lunch and then get a finishing off Busy's table runner. Whoot, it is  such a good day!!

Toodles

Linda

Farewell to the Regional Big Guy Boss Man

Our regional director has retired, the big guy, the boss boss has moved on. So we had a little send off for him tonight at the local golf course restaurant. It was a lovely evening. I am thinking there was probably 100 or more people gathered to eat, drink, laugh, make speeches, sing songs and bid him a fond farewell. It was a nice night.

The food was good, just finger foods but very good none-the-less. Cupcakes and fruit for dessert. The speeches were just the right length and not too many as to have everyone wanting to bang their heads against the tables. Just enough. His last farewell speech was perfect, just long enough, funny and sentimental in just the right mix. He got a standing ovation from everyone for a job well done, for being a fare and just boss and just all around good guy. I hope we get someone as reasonably good to replace him.

So that was my evening. My weekend plans have changed. Best Friend's plans have gone astray so she will not be coming until October now.  I no longer have to panic that things in the house are not as they should be. As much as I would love to have seen her, I have many things to do that will be done easier now that I will have time to actually work on them. Busy's table runner for one and all. I will actually get it quilted now and ready to take with me for Thanksgiving. Maybe I can start some of that purging that I have been itching to get at.

Another down side to her not coming is I need to do some grooming on my cat and I was looking foreward to having another set of hands to hold onto her. She has a mat of hair in a rather delicate space, so she is not going to take kindly to me snipping at her. Oh well I will have to man handle her on my own. Should prove to be a fun time for all. She will be loving me again like she did the day I washed her feet. Poor baby.

So I suppose I can kick my feet up for the rest of the night. I do not need to be running about all bat shit crazy trying to do everything at once. I kinda like that idea. It does not take much for me to abandon housework for a night in front of the telly and my knitting on my knee. I'm funny that way

Toodles,

Linda

UFO's Have Taken Over My House

Before you get all panicky or start thinking I have lost what little mind I have left, I am not talking the little green men kind of UFO, the Un Finished Object kind. They are everywhere. I have always sort of known that they lurked around every corner but with my usual pigeon hole style of ignoring things I do not wish to think about, I have pushed them off to the blurry edges of my reality and gone on my merry way. However tonight as I am doing my impression of a cleaning maniac, I have had to acknowledge them, stare them in the eye, gasp in horror and hang my head in shame. Blargh!!!! I need to get this under control.

So what do I do when I have to make a plan, take charge, win back some sense of normality? Well I made a list. (Surprise!!) then I pinned it beside my computer on a very teeny bulletin board I have and I have promised myself that I am going to start working on these things after Thanksgiving and I am going to get them under control. Unfinished projects mean stuff piled up waiting to be used, which means, mess and clutter and I am determined to purge my house of as much of this as I can.

I don't know if its the coming of fall or what, but I want to get things organized, purge out the crap and make it look tidier. Tonight I have been cleaning, I have been going like mad and it still is not done but I am gaining ground. I finally got that little metal cabinet that rode around in my car for a week and a half, put into the spot I wanted it to be in. It works well because now the odds and ends are hidden behind a door.

Yes I know its a cupboard sitting in front of another cupboard but I need the storage space right now and the little cabinet is very easy to slide out of the way. The things in the other cabinet I do not use a lot and its on the list of places to get purged. I had a three tiered metal table thing here but I have moved it into the living room. I will show that in another post.

I love this little cabinet. I will in time paint it and put new handles on it. I think I have the perfect one in my stash of door handles. It came from the home of a dear friend and I will treasure it. It holds a multitude of sins.

So I cleaned tonight, I was a whirling dervish. I whirled, I dervished, and still I am not done. Crap. I had hoped to get off work early today, I did lunch duty but with a meeting and people coming and asking for stuff, I could not get away. I am hoping now to get away early on Friday.  On the up side I may not have gotten off early but I have got the laundry finished. I have also managed to fill a garbage bag with junk from the laundry room. I have 3/4 of the kitchen table cleared off and I made my UFO list. Now I am having a break and once I am done this I will tackle the  dishes. I have gathered some things to take to a charity shop for donation and I have a load of recycling to go out. Not bad but it could be better.

I have taped Modern Family and I will for sure be watching that before I go to bed. I love that show. I was late coming around to watching it but its one of my favourites now. Well my break must be over. I need to hit the dish pan then watch Modern Family, hang up the laundry, make the spare bed and then go to bed myself.

Piece of Cake!!

Toodles
Linda

Good News and I Like It

Since I have one person who reads this blog faithfully and is a tad put out when I don't blog regularly I will try to be a bit better at it than I have been recently. However my entertaining anicdotes are sometimes few and far between but I will do my best. Let's see what exciting things can I tell you. Oh yes, I just finished stuffing my face with one of my favourite  snacks. Triscuit Nachos. How do you make them you ask, well I will tell you. Put triscuits on a plate, top them with a small piece of marble cheese, heat in the microwave for 1 minute. When they come out top with salsa, yummy!! Would  be very nice to say this is my one guilty pleasure but its one of many. I like them because they are fast, easy and ever so tasty.

I had my visit with the Hostess. We had a lovely evening. She is still sorta fresh out of the hospital after surgery so she is not quite ready to do a lot of running about. We made a trip to the drugstore and then home to her place for tea and chatting. It pleases me to no end to see her doing so well. The doctor has said all the right things, all prospects look good and that to me is an answered prayer. It is a joy to see her moving towards her old self, slow and steady, mind you, but definitely on the good path. By the time I got home from seeing her I did not feel like doing a dang thing. How much of a surprise is that???

I did do a load of laundry, set another to soaking and watched the elimination night of Dancing with the Stars. Like I said on Wednesday I will turn into a house cleaning maniac but for now I am doing my best slug impression.

Lady Bug's Mom called me tonight. She is home right now, taking it easy and devoting herself to baking up another grandbaby for me to declare as mine. I could not be happier. She is having some troubles right now and had to take things easy but so far so good and I for one have all my fingers and toes crossed that things stay positive. Nightly prayers are offered up that this little peanut stays put and grows stronger and bigger each day. She tells me she is feeling better and that is music to my ears. I have know for awhile about this good news but could not share until now as you do. All in all there has been some seriously good news this week. I like it when things go well.

Tomorrow is Wednesday already. Housecleaning will be number one on my list. Since I am having company this weekend I cannot let this slid any more. Best Friend will not care but I will.  The living room is half decent but the rest is .............well...............a disaster.

I did manage to get the cabinet out of my car that I bought last weekend from H's mom. Its now in the kitchen. Needs to be in the laundry room but its in the kitchen. Hey, that's major progress, its only been riding in my car for a week and a half!! I apparently do not like to rush into things.

So I have to clean the house, quilt Busy's table runner and rearrange my laundry room. Piece of Cake. I have  one evening this week and a few next week. Should be able to manage it. I will keep you posted!! Try not to get too hyper with all this action!! Its not good for the blood pressure.

Toodles,
Linda

Multi Tasking or Just Nuts

I worry about myself some times, I actually caught myself tonight, crocheting an afghan while watching Dancing with the Stars, while checking Pinterest while talking on the phone. I almost gave myself a headache.   I do things like that too often, I have about four to six things going at one time and I cannot really do any of them. Sometimes I wonder if I have a bit of a problem with my attention span.

Anyway, Its been awhile since I did a blog post. I have been getting back into the routine of working after my vacation. I had a busy weekend, that included a trip to the Big City to see a local theater production of Little Women, then supper out and back home. I love doing things like that, its so much fun. Its always good to spend a day with good friends. Now its back to work. Funny how the free days go so fast and the work days seem to drag.

Busy week this week as well. Tuesday night I am off to spend a bit of time with the Hostess, then Thursday night I have a retirement party to go to, Friday night is No Cook and then Best Friend should be here for the weekend. Don't know when I am going to get the house cleaned. There are season openers on tv and I cannot tape everything, I don't know which direction to go first. It will all get done, it always does. I will turn into a housecleaning maniac on Wednesday.

I almost have the table runner done for Busy. I would have been farther along with it but I misjudged the material and I ended up about 6 inches short of the main colour. This would ordinarily be no big deal but I bought the material more than a year ago and in another province. Crap. So running out to get a bit more was totally out of the question. Crap, crap, crappity, crap!!! (Insert much swearing, head banging and teeth gnashing here). Thankfully I did have some extra of another colour so I think I have saved the day. Oh I hate when I do stupid things like that. I have the top all sewn together now I just need to get it quilted. I need to kick that into gear as I want to take it to her at Thanksgiving. I will post pictures once it is all finished. I really like this paper piecing technique. I bought a book on it when I was at the Peebles Girls Reunion. The place we were has a fabulous quilt shop. I could have gone broke in there no problem.

Fall has arrived. I know that because I am wearing my slippers and my ratty old black sweater in the house. My lawn is a carpet of leaves and Mother Nature has brought out the best party frocks for the trees. I love autumn, I like the colour, the smell, pumpkins, apples, spice and the nip in the air. I may have to crank on the furnace once Best Friend gets here. Its not nice to make your friends turn blue. I need to get my fall decorations out and dress up the front of the house.

Well I need to get back to Dancing with the Stars, my afghan and then head for bed. I hope your weekend was wonderful.

Toodles,

Linda

Monday Moment With Minou

Why do you need to quilt when there are belly's to be rubbed??

Peebles Girl's Reunion Weekend

I had the best weekend this past weekend. It was 43 years in the making and was so much fun. Long, long, long ago I moved to a little town called Peebles and started to school in a grade with 5 other little girls. Sadly shortly after I moved there, one of our classmates died of a burst appendix and then in our teens another of our number was killed in a car accident and then there were four. I was only there for grades 3,4 and 5, then my Dad's job took us away and life went on. H moved away when she was a teenager so only B & L stayed together until grade 12.

H and I have kept in touch over the years, I did with B somewhat but lost track of her over time. L and I never did exchange letters but I did see her once in high school. Thanks to Facebook we found each other again, scattered to the winds but we managed to get in touch once more after all these years. We have not all been in the same place for 43 years, well that is until this weekend.

This weekend H was back to move her Mom home to live with her and her husband. When I heard about it I planned to go and see her on the weekend. I was not sure when I would get another chance. H and B got chatting on Facebook and B said she could come for supper at least.  L lives very close to where we all would be, so hey presto, several facebook messages later and we had the Peebles Girls Reunion planned out. Oh the excitement! I could hardly stand it, I felt like a kid a Christmas. I was up and on the road at 6:30 am on Saturday morning.

So finally our weekend rolled around, I was ready, I had wanted to take a gift with me but did not know what. Then a friend made a suggestion as to a gift I could take and I ran with the basic idea. Pretty soon I had the perfect little gifties for the girlies.

I had to pull my house apart to organize these gifts, but finally I found all I needed, and Walmart cooperated and had them ready in record time. Keeping my mouth shut until I actually got to give the gifts was not an easy thing for me to do. Here they are:

Yes that is us, the four of us, all 10 years old and cute as buttons in the only school pictures we had taken while I was going to school there. You know you have the right gift when you can make three grown women squeal and giggle like they were 10years old again as they open them.  When I first ordered them I thought it would take 3 weeks to get them but they were here in 24 hours and I was so pleased with how they came out. I was beyond thrilled that I managed to find the pictures after all this time. I would have been hooped if I could not have laid my hands on them

Fast foreward and here we are now. Older, wiser, and like fine wine so much better with age. We had a lovely time. So much talking, so much catching up. We talked and talked and talked. Memories came back that had been forgotten as we caught up on each other and everyone else we could think of. We also found out a few things that some of us never knew. Teen age antics came to light and were either giggled or blushed over. I heard names I had totally forgotten, heard about things I no longer remembered. It was the best, just the very best. The only thing I regret is that we did not have more time together.

We have decided that we cannot leave it as long again before we get together again. If we do we may not know who we are let alone who anyone else is. Right now the tentative idea is that in two years we will do this all again for a longer period of time. One day was not enough to say and do all we wanted to say and do.

I was so grateful that everyone made the effort to be there. I will treasure my lovely hand made scarf, enjoy my homemade pure maple syrup and treasure my new memories. I have more pictures of course but those are just for us. (I see some scrapbooking in my future). I had such a good time and cannot wait until our next reunion.

I stayed until Sunday and H came and stayed with me at the hotel. It gave us more time to talk. B had to work the next day so she had to leave right after supper. I did some shopping while I was there, there is an excellent quilt shop there. H and I did a lot more talking and all in all it was an excellent two days. I am sure I will share my purchases at a later date because most of them involve more crafty projects that I am hoping to do.

I also cannot tell how happy I was that I did not have to get up and go to work this morning. I have one more day off and then I have to go back to work. I have missed my work friends, of that there is no doubt but I have not missed the work, nor have I had any urge to go back. Those lottery people really need to get me my retirement fund.

Toodles,
Linda

Monday Moment With Minou

I hate you, my back feet may be clean and feeling so much better

 but I am soaking wet from the butt down and I hate you!!

Crazy Friday

This will have to be a short post as I am running like a chicken with their head cut off today. things are all nuts and crazy and being dramatic but its all falling into place and will be wonderful after the dust settles and I will probably do a big old post about it all once I  have a chance.

Mostly I just wanted to show off my recent mosaic creation: I did this the other day. I rather like it.

This one I am giving as a gift so its not staying with me. I like the blues and greens of it. I just hope the person that is getting it will like it as well.

Oh I must run, I have a million things to do and I keep thinking of three more every time I do one of them. I promise a bigger post later. I wish you all a good weekend.

Toodles.

Linda

Best Laid Plans Go Up in Smoke

Its amazing how carefully you can plan and then things go in a totally different direction. Nothing went the way I hoped it would today but I did manage to get some things done. Best of all I finished the crib quilt and bumper pads I was making for a co-worker. That would be the quilt I was working on at the cabin. They are done, delivered and paid for. AWESOME!! I also hemmed 5 pairs of jeans today, a last minute, panicked, rush, beg and plead request from a desperate Mom. So I did not get doing what I had wanted to do today but I made some money which is something I cannot say no to. Especially since I am trying to paint the shed.

I went and got some more tile today to work on some mosaic stars for the shed. Then I realized I have to stop gathering tile, I am doing exactly what I always do. I am stock piling a ton of stuff before I actually do any amount of it. So I need to stop until I get some things done. My tile box is full and I have overflow all over the kitchen table. Good Grief. "If one is good a million is better"  must be tattooed on me someplace. It certainly is my mantra.

My holiday is slipping away faster than I would like and I have not done a lot of what I wanted to do. I could not paint on the shed today because it was crazy windy here. I did go looking for some more colour but I did not find any yet. I am hoping to. I am headed out of the province on Saturday so I can look in the towns I pass through.

Tomorrow I have some housekeeping to do, and I have an appointment to get my hair cut in the middle of the afternoon. I desperately need a hair cut. Its so long its driving me nuts. Well I have babbled on for long enough  so I think I am going to go and knit for a bit, then head for bed early. I was so busy sewing this afternoon, I did not get my nap. (I love my nap in the afternoon)

So I hope your day went more to plan today than mine did.

Toodles,
Linda

Being Stubborn Can Be Expensive

I am my Father's daughter. I did not inherit his easy way with people but I did inherit his stubborn streak. A fact that I proved again today. I started to paint the shed. I cannot afford to replace the shed so I am thinking a coat of paint will make a  lovely change. I decide I can spray paint it, its metal it should be easy. I buy spray paint. The paint says primer first, I say "nonsense", Did I mention I was stubborn. Really at my age I should know better. You may be already figuring out where this is going.

So here is the shed, in all its ugly brown glory. I am going to replace the door when I have the money because it is done so for now ignore it. I am also ignoring the roof at this time because it is covered with sap from the big maple tree and dirt and all manner of gunk. It needs to be pressure washed then painted. For now it is being ignored. Ugly shed...........

I painted the north end, without primer and used way too much of my paint and it still looks blotchy. Instead of going for primer, I wasted paint and am now kicking myself for it. When I finally broke down and went for the primer, the place is out of the colour I was using. I will need to run around town and find the colour if I can because so far I have half the shed painted and I am out of colour. Its ok though, I am made of money!!
Argh

It makes a difference though, blotchy or not. I did go and get primer, and it makes a difference. Who knew, the really sad part was I would have had nearly enough colour to finish the shed if I had just used primer to start with. I am such a child at times.  I still need to do a second coat of the colour but I am happy with it. I had hoped to get farther along than I did but (a) I ran out of colour and am too lazy to run around town looking for more and (b) it way to windy today to be painting with a spray can. I did get two sides done which is better than nothing.

Once the doors are replaced and painted a nice white or maybe another colour I have not decided yet it is gonna look nice. Once I do the second coat on the side panels it will look so much better. I want to get numbers to but on the shed as we are supposed to have our house address on the back as well as the front. I am seeing a mosaic tile project in the future. :-)

Tomorrow morning I will go for more paint, and hopefully get some more done on it if the wind has gone down a bit.

Monday Moment with Minou

These towels are no where near fluffy enough, I must add a layer of my super fabulous fluffy cat hair to make them super fluffy................so bug off until I am done.

Slow and Lazy Sunday Update

So I found the trim for the tiled plant stand in the sewing room cabinet, in a container, labeled "trim". This is like a near miracle. Stuff like that never happens in this house. I am astounded that I actually put it in the spot that it should be. It took me two seconds to find it. One would think this would be a lesson to me and I will try to remember how easy this was the next time I go to store something away. PUT IT WHERE IT BELONGS!!

So the pompom trim turned out to be a cream colour and the little stool is white. Luckily I had some white tassel trim, in the same container, (who knew!!) so I whipped out the trusty hot glue gun and voila................ a finished project.

Since I had the trims out and the glue gun heated up and ready to go, I stuck the pompom fringe to a counted cross stitch foot stool I made in 1995. I bought the little stool at a secondhand store for 25 cents. I was covered in a lovely shiny green vinyl. The pompoms finish it off nicely.

and yes before you ask, the left over trim went back into the box labeled trim and back into the cupboard. The glue gun went back into its tin. Its a new age people!!

Toodles,
Linda

Slow and Lazy Sunday

Ah it has been a slow, quiet, easy Sunday around here and I am enjoying it. While it is lovely to be away there is something to be said for one's own bed. And when that bed has cool breezes wafting over it and the gentle snore of a contented cat at its foot. Well its very comforting. That is what I woke to this morning. No barking dog at the neighbour's house for once. Bliss. Cool breeze, contented cat, soft mattress. warm blankets.

I managed to take a picture of the tea light holders I bought. I really do need to work on my photography skills. Until that happens this is the best I can manage, I need to pop a tea light into each one but I have to find the tea lights. I have some, in a cupboard someplace. Sigh.

I also found these two charmers on my travels. They wanted to come home with me. The picture holder may go to my office, I have not decided yet. The little winged piggy is iron and maybe a door stop but I will find a shelf for him somewhere in the house.

So today has been quiet and easy. I am still working on the laundry, moving on now to washing the sheets I use to keep the cat hair off the quilts on the bed, and doing tea towels and dish cloths. I have the sheets drying on the cloths line and the tea towels waiting their turn. Its a good day for drying clothes outside. Just enough of a warm breeze to do the job.

I did a bit of mosaic tiling  today. I had a little wooden stool that will make a lovely plant stand, so I tiled the top of it today

I have some white pom pom trim that will finish this off rather nicely but I just cannot lay my hands on it at the moment. I am not in the mood to rip the sewing room apart to find it so it can wait. If I got paid for all the time I spend looking for stuff in this house I would be such a rich woman. Ah well, it will turn up eventually. Anyway, the little dutch looking tiles are actually that. My friend E gave them to me, she brought them back from Holland. I have some others but I need to find the right project to use them on. Her husband is Dutch so they have made many trips over there. She never did anything with them so she passed them on to me.

Have I ever mentioned I am blessed with good friends??

I hope your Sunday is going well.

Toodles,
Linda

Home From The Lake

I am back from my five days a J's cabin and I loved every minute of it. Its so quiet and peaceful up there after the long weekend. Most people have left the lake by then, I swear there was maybe one or two other people in the area I was. You could heard the bugs outside when you were in the cabin. So quiet, so restful,

I did not do much reading, maybe a chapter in one book I took with me. I think the very best part of my day was morning coffee out on the deck, in my jammies, looking at all these lovely pine trees, and listening to the squirrels chitter at each other

Autumn is starting to make her presence known and the air is starting to cool. My kind of weather, my favorite season. Coffee out here never tasted so good. Ah it was bliss, every morning.

I may not have read but I did work on some crafty things, I took my sewing machine with me and happily spent some time sewing to my hearts content.

Its a baby quilt that I have been commissioned to make. Funny, this is a job I have been hired to do but it sure did not seem like work

Its all quilted I just need to bind it and it will be done. I can then move on to making the bumper pads. I love the bright blue/green colour combo. I did some knitting as well. I worked on some dish clothes and started a baby blanket I have had the wool for for a long time. I just love this pattern. Not your traditional baby colours but I like it. Oh if you want to see these pictures in more detail  you can click on them to see a bigger version.

I watched lots of DVD's, took in the local shopping, drove to a neighboring town for lunch at a lovely little gift shop. I met the Hostess for coffee and a lovely local coffee shop/ book store. I could live in this place. Great coffee and wall to wall books. Its my kinda place. They have a gift shop with local artisans crafts for sale along with some fair trade stuff. I eyed up some dishy baskets but managed to leave them behind. I have lots of baskets.

I also spent some time and money in my favourite hardware store/liquor mart/home decor/grocery store. Literally you walk in and the first aisle is booze, then paint, then home decor and right across from that is groceries. It cracks me up every time I am in there but I always manage to buy something. I got some folk art votive holders that I forgot to take a picture of. I have a fondness for folk art so they had to come and live at my house.

I should have called some friends while I was at the lake but I forgot my book of phone numbers at home and so no one got a call. I feel bad about that. I hope to make it up to them. So now I am home and I have another week before I have to return to the real world of work. I have some stuff I want to get done around here.

Right now I need to deal with the disaster that is my kitchen. All the cabin stuff came in yesterday and got dumped, and has been ignored since then. I take everything with me that I can so I am not using anything that is J's. Me being me I take way to much. So now all that needs to be returned to its normal place, laundry needs to be done and the groceries need to be put away. ( yes I am hiding in the sewing room, hoping the mess will take care of itself. Not the mature way I know but a girl can dream)

I have no plans for today, just deal with the cottage mess, laundry and maybe bind that quilt. The longer I sit in here the more overwhelmed I feel so I need to yank up the proverbial boot straps and dive in. Where is a good house elf when you need one??

Toodles
Linda

Ready, Set, Vacation!!!

Almost packed, almost ready to hit the road, lists have been checked and rechecked. Things have been added, subtracted, and fussed over. I love this time, its the start of everything, the beginning, all the days lay ahead of me. 18 days of no work. I am not gong to be gone the whole time but I am getting away for a few days and I am feeling just a little like a child at Christmas.

So at some point tomorrow I shall hit the road and have some time away. BLISS. I have the use of a friend's cabin and I shall love every moment of it. I have tons of dvd's, cd's, books, magazines and crafty things to devote myself to. I look foreward to sitting by the water and just soaking up that sound, smell and sight. I love to be by the water. It has a visceral effect on me. A cabin by the water would be a lovely thing to have. J's cabin is not water front but it is still lovely and peaceful to be there.

I am first off going to spend an evening with the Nurse and the Entertainer. I am so thrilled they invited me to come and stay. We will have supper, I will spend the night then head to the lake on Monday. I have not seen their house. I think we will have a grand time. I am headed there tomorrow sometime.

I still have to finish the laundry, do the litter box, take out the garbage, finish packing, load the car, get gas, stop at Michael's for yarn ( since Zellers has no idea what the heck a SALE is!! Hmmph) and then hook up with the Hostess to give her her turtle puppet. Busy busy before I get to leave.

Zeller's is selling out their stock. Store wide liquidation!! So I went for dish cloth yarn the other day. Thought I would stock up. HA!! The stuff was on sale at 10%, too bad the regular price was a dollar more than any other place in town. So the piddly little 10% still had it more expensive than regular price elsewhere. Hense the trip to Michael's before I leave town.

Well I hear some serious rumbles of thunder. I need to check to see if the rain is coming in the windows. I will be back as I can over the next few days. Not sure where I will be or what I will be doing.

Toodles,
Linda