July 31/09

Sigh. Working on a long weekend here in New Brunswick! The weather is looking like it might be some what kind of maybe nice for all of those people who are off for the weekend. We need a reprieve from all of the rain we have been getting for the past month or more. Happy New Brunswick Day!

July 28/09

My little nephews started to blow out the candles on MY birthday cake before I had even managed to take a deep breath! The family had an early celebration for me last weekend with lobster. Yum! My cousin was in town with her son (one of the candle-blower-outers!) to visit before she moves to Burkina Faso next month so it made my birthday extra special.


I finally picked up a needle and stitched something last night. This design is from a Provo Craft kit that I bought at a closing out sale for less than $5. The kit even included scissors and a needle threader so it is was a great bargain and the design is rather cute. One of my friends has a birthday this week so I stitched this up for her.

July 21/09

Unfortunately, I did not manage to buy any of the gorgeous fabrics I saw in the Black Market in Darkhan because of time and the need for a local to tell me what is the good stuff! I did come home with this little felted piece as a memento of the Darkhan Habitat office. The affiliate sold these instead of t-shirts like the other affiliates I have visited (El Salvador and the Dominican Republic). I also bought a cross stitch kit of wild horses that I will get to stitching one of these days. The woman who sold it to me was so kind. She took the kit apart to show me that all of the pieces were there and she made sure that I knew how to stitch!

Stitching is on the back burner for me these days as I re-adjust to being home, my cousin is coming to visit this week before she moves to Burkina Faso with her son, and I have to complete my professional continuing education ASAP because I put it off for so long! I did manage to pull the majority of the weeds out of my gloriously flowering flower beds and my tomato plants are coming along nicely. The deer have found my hostas and lilies, much to my dismay, but the vandals who have been roaming my neighbourhood had left me alone. The vandals thought it was funny to loosen the bolts on a neighbour's truck tire and to paint swastikas on the main street of the neighbourhood. Honestly, it is too bad that they do not invest their efforts in good works instead of senseless activities like this.

July 17/09 (I think!)

Hey all! Just back from my Habitat for Humanity trip to Mongolia. Here are some of the pictures!

Galaa needed to be strict to maintain order on the construction site.


Inside a ger at Amarbayasgalant Monastery.




The two homeowners in front of our handiwork. Sorry for the sideways pictures. I will try to fix that when my brain and body are back in the same time zone again!


The team, the Habitat workers and the homeowners. The smiles and hugs say it all.