cat or dog?

You Are: 40% Dog, 60% Cat

You and cats have a lot in common. You're both smart and in charge - with a good amount of attitude. However, you do have a very playful side that occasionally comes out!

Are You More Cat or Dog?

another sbq

Sorry for a week with no updates. We've been away to Portsmouth for a few days. When DH returns with the camera, I'll post some shots. It was a great mini-break! The only downer was dd3 started not feeling well during the trip, was fairly ill on the train ride home and spent yesterday in bed by her choice. She is better today, but I haven't accomplished much with a sick child. *sigh* Now on to the sbq:

Today's SBQ was suggested by Carol (http://carolsxsblog.blogspot.com/)
and is:

Since you started blogging, have you noticed any difference in your stitching habits? Tell us about them.

I think that I am more aware of how much I am stitching, since I started posting on bbs and now blogging. I notice more if I don't meet goals set, because others are also aware of the goals. In addition to that, I've just been introduced to so many designers and patterns thru the blogs that I frequent. Many of the blogs I read, the writer's have a very different style of what they stitch from me, but I find myself more and more drawn to a wider array of styles having seen them come to life in other blogs.


Blessings...

Two SBQs

Today's SBQ was suggested by Vash
(http://seasidestitcher.blogspot.com) and is:

What is the biggest mishap you have had with your stitching material
(i.e. spillages)?

When I was stitching an afghan for dd number 2, dd number 1 took the scissors and cut a 1 1/2 inch slit in the afghan. She cut in a place that was close to the stitched design but was not supposed to be stitched at all. I was able to take the strands where I was fringing the edge and weave the cut together. Then I added a couple of extra roses to stitch over the section. If you know it is there, it is easy to find. But to the casual viewer it is not obvious.

[Last week's] SBQ was suggested by Cheryl and is:

What do you do with your charts once you've stitched them? Do you keep
them or dispose of them? If you keep them, do you organize them in a
way that is different from the way you keep your unstitched charts?

I'm getting better at giving away stitched charts to other's who might use them or putting them in a chart exchange that happens every now and then on the message board I frequent. I do keep charts that I am likely to stitch again, or which have motifs that I might use in RRs since that is my passion. Charts that have been stitched are noted on my excel worksheet of charts I own and are placed in their own file folder. That way when I'm looking for something that I know that I've stitched I only have to look in one place.

The smell of fresh rain

We have had several days of extreme heat for this part of the world (28 degrees plus). That may not seem hot, but when the low to mid 20s are normal and there is no air conditioning, it is hot. So last night as the smell of the rain coming wafted into the house there was a sense of relief. It had not even started to cool things off, but the smell brought the promise. I almost love the signs of promise as much as a promise fulfilled. I love the anticipation that something great is coming. And it did. We awoke to a fresh, crisp morning. Plenty of sunshine, but not the heat. (And my little ones finally slept in this morning. They've been getting up at the crack of dawn because they were hot and uncomfortable.) Looks to be a glorious day! Hope you have a lovely day as well.

Blown Away

Have you ever been totally blown away by something? You know have an encounter that absolutely takes your breath away? I had that experience last Friday night. I was going to the theater to see my good friend in the lead of Jane Eyre, the musical. I loved the book as a teen, so I expected to enjoy the storyline, although I just could not picture it as a musical. My friend has a lovely voice, so I knew it would be pleasant to hear. I knew that I would enjoy the show if only for those reasons and because I love "K." I never expected to be totally wowed! She was mesmerizing. From the moment she walked onto the stage, she was Jane. I would totally forget that I knew her and that we have spent hours walking, shopping, giggling, praying and crying together. She was the character. Her voice was in great shape--and she even said after the show that she seemed "dry" that night. The only time I was not watching her in awe was when A's "Rochester" was on stage, because he was the only one who could command the audience in the same way she did. It was an awesome night! Rumour has it that producer's from London's West End were to be in the audience to think about taking a version of Jane Eyre to the stage there. They had to be impressed with what they saw. Bravo! to the cast. What a wonderful evening!

SBQ for 22 June 2006

Today's SBQ was suggested by Vash
(http://seasidestitcher.blogspot.com/) and is:

Have you ever used a magnifying glass while stitching? If so, did you
find it helpful?

Never used a magnifying glass--at least not yet. Of course I do have to have my glasses on or I can't see anything, magnifying glass or not. lol

Quilt Blocks, Round Robins, Stitching, Oh my!

We are having a baby boom on the board where I post about stitching. Here are the three quilt blocks I have completed so far:




I've also been working on Round Robins: Here is H's band (I did the bottom row of roses):
[
and R's neighbourhood:


Two more baby quilt blocks to finish and in my possession a single theme rr and a band rr with a neighbourhood on its way. Eventually I will stitch on my own stuff. lol

Thanks for looking!

All moved in!

We are finally totally moved into the house. The girls love the slide and the toy room. I think that they feel like it is home already. I'm so glad. They are a little young to be able to explain that the house changes but home is something else. Glad they instinctively get it. DH really likes his new job, and is beginning to get into the swing of things. He will be doing lots of traveling the next month. We hope to join him for at least one of the trips.

This house is smaller than our previous one, but not by much. It has some nice perks. Here is a couple of pictures of the neighbours.
There is also a wooded area behind the house where we walk that has bunnies. Around the lake is just under a mile walk, so I'm trying to walk it a couple of times a day at least. Good for health and sanity to get an outside break with the girls. I do think we are blessed and will be happy here.

Blessings to each of you...

One More Moving Post

A giggle to start the day:
The movers have been here since 9 a.m. One of them started straight away on my sewing room. He thinks he'll finish around 3:30. He says that room separates the men from the boys--and that he may be a boy. lol Our mug collection from all of our travels and our books are in that room. But mainly it is stash for quilting and cross-stitch. Maybe I should stop buying? Probably not.

Moving Day

Tomorrow is moving day so today is busy doing the last push to declutter things I don't want to go with us. I'll be off-line for at least a week, so no updates. When I get re-connected I'll post pics of the blocks I've been doing for baby quilts.

BTW, I was able to hire one of the teenagers that live around the corner from the new house to come during Bible Study and watch the rugrats. She can't start until June 29, so we'll have 2 weeks of trying to contain them by some other means but at least for the rest of the summer I can know that we have safety in place.

Blessings. *See* you in a couple of weeks....

Can't Stop Shaking

Today was my Bible Study I host at the house. It was a spectacular discussion and God is so at work in the lives of the ladies. But we were focusing on the study. My two darlings (?) and the two year old daughter of one of the other ladies were playing--going from the downstairs toy room to the bedroom upstairs and back. I had closed off the doors to all of the rooms that they were not supposed to be in--kitchen, office, my bedroom and sewing room. My girls do not go through closed doors---they just don't (dd1 can't open them and dd3 has learned that is a no-no). So first they get into the kitchen and get the berries and sliced ham out of the fridge. It is a mess, but I can live with it. I hear them go in my room and know that the only damage they can really do is play with the clothes to be folded on the bed--which they did, also no biggie. But when we went to get them, they had been in my sewing room. And they had climbed up on the shelf (had to move a chair to get there) and got my supply basket down. And they had emptied it and got my roller blade. And they had opened it. And dd3 had cut her finger, just slightly but there was some blood (and no she was not crying at all). I am reeling at what could have happened. If it had been a new blade she could have easily cut off her finger. I thought it was safe, on a top shelf, away from easy access, in a room with a closed door that is known to be off limits. DD3 has had a thorough talking to about not doing that again and I did not accept that she blamed someone else, because she knew it was wrong and didn't come get me (she had tattled on dd1 several times during the morning). I do not know how I am going to keep them out of where they don't belong each week during Bible Study. Maybe the new house has locks on doors? I don't remember. Now I must stop shaking.

Graceful?...not I

My Dad used to say that if I had been meant to be graceful he would have named me grace. Yesterday I proved why that is not my name. I was changing a lightbulb in the bathroom. I successfully changed the light but noticed the spot light over the tub was also out. So I stepped into the tub and onto the large ledge behind tub, unscrewed the bulb and stepped back into the tub. As I stepped OUT of the tub, the easiest part of this maneuver, I caught my foot and came crashing down. Hit the chair that was there to change the bulb, the step into the tub and the bidet on my way down. I have bruises on my right shoulder, upper arm, ribs and hip. I am so sore today it is not even funny! *sigh* Off for more advil. Have a blessed day!

A job and a disastrous celebration dinner

DH finally got confirmation of the job for which we were waiting. Those of you who know who he works for, it is for the only outsourcing group that is bigger. lol He ends with his current company on the 31st and starts with the new company on June 1, so God has graciously allowed us to not have any down time.

We got the prelimary news on Friday and it was confirmed by post on Saturday morning. But Friday night we decided to go out to dinner to celebrate. STOP READING NOW IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH. Okay, so we were going to our favourite Italian restaraunt, which is kind of fancy and fairly expensive. We've taken the girls before, but always early in the evening and never on a Friday when it is packed. But they are good and we are always getting compliments on their behaviour, so this should be easy. right.

So, I am feeling great, think I look pretty good and we are set for a wonderful meal. DD1 was fussy in her highchair and I decided it was just because she had slept a little in the car. So I took her out to sit in my lap. Where she promptly turned and projectile *v'd* all over the wall and my right shoulder (thankfully mostly water). *sigh* So I went to the restroom and washed out my shirt and dried it with the hand dryer (thank you God for one that really dries!) and returned to the table which had been cleaned while I was gone. By now DD1 is giggling and having a great time. So I think it must have been a fluke. right? wrong!

She goes back into the highchair, plays happily until starters come, sees the melon we had ordered for her and begs for it. I think that melon is probably okay so let her have 2 bites. But she wants to eat off of my plate, so again I take her out of the chair. This time she just turned to grace the entire front of my shirt with the melon she just ate. Again we go clean up. I'm contemplating a very stiff drink at this point. *grin*

We get back to the table and she goes to sleep on my shoulder through the rest of the meal. DH took her after he finished his meal so that I could finish eating. She woke up just long enough to *v* down the front of his shirt. At the same time DD3 decided to throw a huge tantrum because I told her to finish her pizza (she was asking for ice cream). So, we finished quickly and went home. So much for our wonderful evening out. But we won't forget our celebration dinner for a long time. *sigh*

Where did these children come from? DD1 ended up having a very fitful night, but is fine now.

Stitching Blogger's Question

I finally signed up for this meme, so here is my first go at it:

When you stitch from a kit and use the supplied floss do you have leftovers? If so, how much and what do you do with them? If not, do you usually have just enough or do you have to dig into your stash to finish?

I rarely use kits, so this doesn't usually apply. The kits I have done I find that I'm holding my breath near the end that there will be enough. Leftovers would go to the girls to play with when they pretend to "stitch" or "quilt".

Thursdays Thoughts

I love Thursdays! It is the day that I lead a ladies Bible Study in my home. It is the day that my soul is refreshed in such a lovely way. We are studying Beth Moore's Breaking Free and todays discussion was on the presence of God, the peace of God, the glory of God and the will of God. Easy topics, lol. But it was so good to hear the practicality of how each individual depends on God. We each come to Him differently because we have individual personalities that He gave us. Yet we complement one another and learn from one another. I'm refreshed and content and ready to face the next few days, confident because He has spoken to me through others.

This afternoon I am stitching. I am almost finished with V's RR7 (Sew Cozy) and I want to be able to mail it tomorrow when I go to town. I'm beginning to plan for H's Band RR. It will be so much fun, because it is blackwork (or in this case pinkwork) and I love blackwork. I hope to have pictures over the weekend. So I'm off to stitch. Have a blessed day everyone....

Where did April go?

Actually, I know where it went, but it was just too quick. April was a whirlwind of travel and decisions. Our trip to visit friends and family in the States was such a pleasure. We really enjoyed the down time and dd3 (especially) really connected with her grandparents this time. The highlight of her trip was riding on my dad's tractor closely followed by going to the zoo with her uncle--without Mom and Dad which made it even better for her.

We came home to a decision that it was time for DH to leave the company for whom he has worked for 18 years. He put in his resignation without a job offer waiting. It is a huge leap of faith, but God is providing in so many ways. We are delighting in the journey. We truly believe that an offer will come before he finishes work on the 31st, but if it doesn't that just means God has something else planned. I've never been this at peace with a decision. Can't wait to share the whole story when I can. The downside of this decision is that we have to move from this house. Our lease was held by the company and the landlord is taking advantage of the change of circumstance and a good real estate market to put the house on the market rather than lease it to us as a private lease. So the second half of April was a flurry to find a house. We have a house and move on the 25th, so all is well.

The last weekend in April we went up to Scotland for a quick holiday knowing that we won't get holiday time for a while starting a new job. Here we are (so you can put faces with our non-names! lol)
It was wonderful and the most relaxed we have been in a long while!

Finally, I have been stitching. Here is my latest finish P's Neighbourhood RR.
I really love how it turned out and find it addictive. I want to just keep adding embelishments to the garden. I've completed two other RR's this week which are small. The next goal is to finish V's RR7 and have it on its way home by the end of the week. Then time to start another neighbourhood and H's Band RR.

Thanks for reading. Blessings today....

April Already?

Can't believe it is already April. Spring has come here and the daffodils are in full glory. DD3 tells me everyday "they (the flowers) are starting again." I think she was ready for spring too. I won't be around much for the next couple of weeks because we are making our annual whirlwind trip to visit friends and family in the US starting Friday. I am so excited! I don't think I've been this ready for a trip home since we became exPats. I'm really not sure what the difference is this time, but I can't wait. DD3 really understands where we are going and is looking forward to driving grandpa's tractor and giving uncle J a surprise. Too cute. DD1 has no clue, but she keeps climbing into the suitcase to be certain she isn't left.

Stitching has almost completely stopped the last 2 weeks, so I think I need some monthly goals to try to motivate me. Here goes:
*Keep up with the Neighbourhood RR and get Band RR ready to go
*Finish V's RR7 and Welcome RR
*Finish 3 states on ALTWL
*Find the rest of the pattern for ALTWL (munchkins have apparently moved 3 of the 6 pages)
With traveling that is probably all that is reasonable at all. I'm taking the band RR and ALTWL on the plane with me. I don't like working on other people's work outside of the house or I'd take other RRs as well.

Blessings....

Science experiments of a 14 month old

aka "Why God Made Them Cute". She had 8 minutes 23 seconds while I was distracted by the phone to learn as much about refrigerator science as she could. Here's what she managed:

• Eggs break when dropped on the floor. It is repeatable. She did it 3 times in 3 different spots of the kitchen.
• Milk puddles on linoleum. But if you walk the 20 steps to the carpet it sinks in.
• (3 year old scientist helped with this one) You can put 1/2 liter of milk, 2 packages of cheese, one egg carton--now empty, and 4 carrots in the doll's pram.
• Niblet corn makes a fun mess on the carpet when poured out. Mommy is not amused by the abstract art.
• Cheese wrapped in plastic should not be bitten before unwrapped.
• Raw carrots are good.

AAARGGHH! It's a good thing DH and I are going out to dinner with adults tonight sans children. They are not "take to a nice restaurant" presentable today. But I am! And they get their favourite baby-sitter so life is good.

*sigh*

Stitching It Forward

This is the piece I completed today for the Stitch it Forward Exchange on the CrossStitch Crazy Board.  It's a great exchange where everyone involved stitches one of two pre-determined designs.  The first person to send (in this case me) will choose a participant and send their completed piece.  That recipient chooses from who is left and sends theirs and so on and so forth until everyone has received one of the two designs.  I hope my chosen recipient likes it.  This design was created by one our very talented board members, Kristin.  It's stitched on Silkweaver Peri-Berri hand-dyed fabric using Kreinik Silk Mori (the lilac), Dragon Floss (Hugs and Stitches) DMC (green) and a lovely floss from www.annickabrial.com (rose) that I received in an exchange.

Who is being Homeschooled?

I consider myself a homeschooling parent, although the girls are only three and one. We do not use any curriculum yet, just life. So this week as life happened and dd3 was learning by asking the incessant "why" "how" "when" questions and God was showing me the parallels I wondered if it is really my daughter who is being homeschooled or me?

Here's just an example. We were going for an afternoon walk and the sun is finally shining so dd3 notices that she has a shadow. She was asking why she had a shadow and what was it for and ... and... and..., you know how it goes with a three year old. I was explaining that the shadow was caused by our bodies blocking the light that was coming from the sun behind us. Then she asked what happened if the light couldn't ever get through? (She was worried about the flowers that were being shadowed at the time). So I explained about how the sun moves and so the shadow is not in the same place all the time (don't get too literal here at 3 she can't understand the sun staying still and the earth turning) and that we would not be standing in the same place for long so the flowers were ok. Later as I was doing my Bible reading about "living in the light" I began to think about dd3 and the shadows. I live in the shadows when I let something get in between me and the SON so that His light is not shining on me. How long can I really survive if I live in the shadows? How long do I want to survive with His light filling my life? On a more personal level, what if my life "shadows" those around me. Are there actions or attitudes that block His light? Am I preventing others from growing. I pray not. But it does seem like a challenge.

Just as I use the things teach my girls, God uses the things of life to teach me. I am being homeschooled by a Heavenly Father. What a joy!
Blessings to you all...