Mar 31/09

Here is a picture of my work in progress. They are from a Jeannette Crew book called "Snow Folks". I am using my scrap thread box to stitch them so each "twin" is slightly different from the other although that may be hard to see in this photo. These designs are quick and easy which is great for my little brain that is exhausted at the end of the day when I fall on the couch and dig out the stitching.

In the meantime, I am working the same number of hours of work, but we have less overlap of pharmacists so my workload is higher because I am usually the only pharmacist on duty. My boss has been trying to help out by covering breaks and lunches so that I can get a few minutes to myself in an 8-hour shift, but some days that does not happen and my only moments of peace are when I hide out in the bathroom! Unfortunately, I think that some anxiety and depression are being triggered so I am trying to take good care of myself to avoid falling into that hole.

At the same time, I am beginning the overhaul of my research paper on microfinance whose final draft is due on April 14th. I was feeling rather blocked and overwhelmed about re-working 20 pages of stuff, but have hit on a technique that seems to work for me. I am writing a short document in a conversational style as if I was explaining over coffee what my paper is about. This style is helping to identify the important bits and the story I want to tell in my paper.

My remaining waking moments have been spent contacting, interviewing and reviewing potential team members for my Habitat for Humanity trip to Mongolia. Things are going well so far and have chatted with some really great people.

I know that I get bored if I do not have several big projects on the go, but I should do more thinking about the scheduling of these things. The paper is due April 14, car inspection is due in April, my Rotary club has a fundraiser on May 2, I leave for Mongolia on June 25, I work full time..........No wonder I am just wanting to curl up in bed and pull the covers over my head.

Mar 27/09

No pictures to post today although I may post some later on the Christmas ornaments I have in progress. My main focus in life at the moment is supposed to be a research paper which is due in a few weeks. The first draft did go in a few weeks ago and it was ripped apart/discussed during Monday's class. I have spent the week digesting the comments, mostly because I did not have time to even open up the document again what with working 7 days in a row since we are short staffed again at work. Family issues have reared their ugly head so time has been spent dealing with those things. On the plus side, my Thursday night curling team won the league last night. My brain has been so out of focus that I did not know we were playing the championship game until friends of mine playing the game beside us told me. I thought that they were pulling my leg until I asked one of the men on my team. You can imagine my surprise when we ended up winning the game and we were named league champions. Life is its usual chaos here in my little corner of the world although I see the sun is shining from vantage point here at a window at the university library.

March 15/09

My stitching has been replaced by all of those notes that Hayes is sleeping on top of. This paper on microfinance and poverty has to be emailed in by Wednesday at 9am, but I have pretty much over-researched and written the bulk of it. Now, I am writing the introduction and the conclusion while fine tuning my arguments and writing style. My problem is editing.....there are so many things that I could write about because this is such a huge topic. Being focused and clear are proving difficult for me.

Mar 4/09

OK, so this is not the straightest photo I have ever taken! I was trying to move the cat out of the way at the same time after having to sweep up the cat litter that gets tracked EVERYWHERE in this house by the 3 furry ones. Anyhow, back to the cross stitch. This kit is a Daydreams one that I bought in Connecticut this summer. It was on mark down because it was missing most of its bits, but I had the cloth for stitching and stitched the design using the picture on the box as the pattern. To clip it all together, I "borrowed" document clips from work and slid them on before unhooking the silver bits that act as levers for the clips. A bit utilitarian, but the clips work and one more thing has been finished in the big pile of stuff in my craft room! I am chipping away at organizing and reducing my cross stitch and craft stash so that it is not completely overwhelming if I ever get accepted to grad school. Packing and moving all of the stuff would be a daunting task, to say the least!

Mar 3/09

Yesterday, I was showing my boss the framed "Wreath of All Seasons" when he made a comment that got me thinking. He was surprised that I had the patience to do cross stitch which got me to thinking about me and my personality and how it can surprise people to find out that someone is a cross stitcher. Then, I got to thinking, well what does a cross stitcher look like so here I am!

Don't mind the fat lip, I bit the inside of my lip yesterday and it is swelling to historic proportions!

Feb 27/09

I just got this one back from the framing shop yesterday. "Wreath of All Seasons" has framed up very nicely and the framer was able to remove the gob of hair dye that fell on the piece one night. It could have been covered by the matte, but he was able to remove it with masking tape! Who knew?!

Now that it is framed, my co-workers and I will be selling raffle tickets on it as part of our fundraising efforts for the Relay for Life in June. I am very excited about this raffle because it should raise a fair bit of money for our team!

Feb 23/09

The back stitching has begun! Back stitching is my favourite part of projects because the piece just seems to come alive under my needle. I have been stitching at night when I need to clear my brain of the research I have been doing on microfinance. My current focus for the research is poverty and the theories surrounding it. The interesting part for me beyond learning all kinds of new information is that I find my self being challenged on all fronts on what I thought poverty and its solutions might be. Well, speaking of research, my boss just called to tell me that the drugstore will open later today because of the 30+ cm of snow that fell overnight so I should take advantage of the time to do some more reading. My driveway is already shoveled (I was out doing that when he called) so now all I have to do is wait for a snow plough to clear the roadway!

Feb 15/09

Happy belated Valentine's Day. My day was so romantic as it started with cleaning up kitty barf and the afternoon was spent at a local cafe drinking coffee and using their free Wi-Fi to do some reading for my university course. Mind you, a friend came to take a break from his studies and he gave me a big hug as he was leaving so it was not a complete romantic dud! Then I ran into my brother and his girlfriend while I was running errands so we chowed down together at Dairy Queen for supper. It was not the Valentine's Day I had thought I would be having this year, but it was the one I had.

I have been putting a few stitches recently into my stocking project instead of running on the treadmill. If I could only find enough time in the day to do everything I love to alongside everything else that has to get done........Magic wand anyone??? Speaking of getting things done, I must get back to my reading on microcredit/microfinance for my research paper. The books are due back at the library tomorrow and I still need to scribble out my research notes from the pages marked with little scraps of paper.

Feb 10/09

Not much stitching going on because I have been busy trying to read and digest 3 books on Muhammad Yunus and his microcredit organization Grameen. I do not understand much about economics and how capital works, but it is a very interesting and long overdue idea to focus on the bottom half of the poor to stimulate economic activity. According to Yunus, Bangladesh should be able to meet its UN Millennium Development Goal of decreasing poverty by 50% by 2015 with its current rate of development. By extending capital through credit in the form of small loans, Grameen has been able to free so many people from the crushing cycle of exorbitant interest rates when they were able to borrow money and to allow them to develop their own economic activity instead of it being a top down activity like so many aid programs.

Well, back to the books. They are on loan from other universities and due back later on this week!

Feb 1/09

Who can resist Winnie the Pooh! Not me, that's for sure! I stitched up this bib from a kit for a new little boy named Carter who is quite adorable I must say. He is just over a month old and we had a lovely visit the other day. I will have to go back soon once this is washed and ironed to give him his welcome-to-the-world present. I also could not resist digging out my pot of honey to pose with the bib. Some day when I finally get around to doing something with the 10 acres of land I own in the country, I would like to try my hand at beekeeping. There is a stand of 20 apple trees there plus I am a bit of a flower growing nut so bee keeping seems like something to try.....some day.

Jan 31/09

One of the magazines I suscribe to is a Canadian feminist magazine called Herizons. In the Winter 2009 issue that arrived this week there is a brilliant essay by Margaret Cho about sexual power. The essay really spoke to me and its meaning to me can be summed up in the last line which reads "I say yes to me." This line has been echoing through my head this week as I deal with the break up mentioned in the entry below. While the essay is about the reasons why she has or has not fully consented to sex, I think that the concluding line is important for everyone in all aspects of our lives. Too often we silence our wishes and desires because it is easier in the face of resistance or to keep the peace. We carry on harbouring resentment because we do not feel like we have been true to ourselves and therefore true to those around us. Last night as I was struggling with not contacting my now ex-boyfriend, I turned to my paper and pen journal to think things through. One of the things that I wrote goes as follows: I love him, but I love me more.

Jan 27/09

My stitching mojo has been sadly lacking in the past few weeks as I dealt with a (short but intense) relationship that suddenly destructed. There was anger, there was heartbreak, there were tears and now I have deleted all of his emails and texts and I am moving on! Nothing major and nothing that does not happen a thousand times a day around the world. We had some really good and interesting times like a fantastic trip to Chicago together in December and then towards the end, we did not. On to the next adventure!

Jan 14/09

This Dimensions kit was one that I picked up in the US this past summer. Friends truly are the family we choose and I have been blessed in my life with some pretty good ones!

I have recently acquired Teresa Wentzler's Christmas Collection from Chapters Indigo. I can not remember the price on the website, but it was a bargain so I could not resist adding just *one* more piece to my collection of her patterns!!

Jan 11/09

I realized the other day that it has been a while since I updated the pictures of the stocking I am stitching for my mother. The Christmas break afforded me alot of stitching time, but classes start tomorrow for me so it is pack away the cross stitch and crack open the books for me!

Jan 5/09

My friend Shelly gave me a gift certificate to Michaels so I rushed right in after Christmas to pick out something cross-stitchy. This kit is so cute that I could not resist! It is a Dimensions Jiffy kit called Tree Frogs Trio. I used some ribbon and matching cotton fabric as well as DMC E987 (Key Lime Splash from Light Effects) to finish the project.

School will be starting next week for me so my stitching has been put to one side as my house is awash in papers that I am preparing for my grad school applications. Man! Deadlines suck! Especially when I make last minute decisions about applying to Masters programs and only have just over a week to get the thing completed and on the desk of the graduate studies office!

Dec 26/08

Some of my gifts are a little late getting into the mail! These little stockings that I purchased in Connecticut this summer will be heading to Norway as soon as I can get to the post office next week! I spent most of Christmas Day stitching while waiting for the turkey to cook because once school starts again in university it will be open lap top, put away embroidery hoop again.

I hope that everyone is having a lovely holiday season and that 2009 brings you all much joy and love.

Dec. 4/08

In case anyone is wondering, I have not fallen off the planet!! Life has been a little busy with my university courses. I have just handed in two papers and am gearing up to write an exam on Saturday and another one on December 11. Then, I am taking a much needed vacation in Chicago! Not much time for stitching, needless to say!

Nov. 9/08

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

- John McCrae

This poem is one that every Canadian school child learns in elementary school. It was written by a Canadian doctor who died on January 28, 1918 in France. November 11, 2008 is the 90th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the war that was supposed to be the war to end all wars. This Remembrance Day, I will pause to remember those who have served and fallen in the name of my country, those who serve today and those are facing conflict like the civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Afghanistan. I dream one day of a world free from war.

Nov. 1/08

Ah! My favourite beer! I have had a hard time convincing my local liquor store to stock it, but they are carrying it specifically for me after harassing them so many times! I was drinking this last night while trying to stitch. Um, well, yeah. Gave up when the pattern started to waver around.....


The stocking is slowly coming together, a few stitches every day!

Oct 22/08

A little update on the stocking. I stithced a fair bit over the weekend, but have not done much during the week because my evenings have been sucked up with school work. I am working on a presentation about human rights and HIV/AIDS in the Canadian Aboriginal population and a paper on international aid and development and gender.


One of my friends that I met on my Habitat trip to El Salvador in November 2006 came into the Port City on one of the cruise ships last week. Suzy and her mom were here to see the fall colours of the East Coast. We had a wonderful afternoon driving around the countryside and taking in the beautiful colours with a wee stop at one of the local covered bridges. Apparently, it had been a long held dream of Suzy's mom to see the East Coast fall colours so it was a great pleasure for me to show the two of them the beauty of this region.

While I was searching through my research on the paper about development, I was reminded of kiva, an organization that I had heard about last year in my Global Issues class. There are some very interesting projects listed and I decided to spend $25 on 4 different projects to see how it all goes. Heck! I easily spend $100 on a pair of shoes without blinking so I figure that the money could be better put to use to help out 4 small entrepreneurs make their lives a little better.

Oct 11/08

My mom's stocking is coming along nicely. The chart is challenging by times to read because it is hand drawn and in black and white, but the design is worth the trouble! Plus, I keep reminding myself that I am making a huge dent in my thread stash with this project! A few years ago (six or seven), I bought out the overstock that we had at our drugstore from when my boss had dabbled in craft supplies and there were hundreds of skeins that came with the plastic display shelving!I was thinking the other day that I can finally get rid of one of the shelves because there are so few threads left in it, but I am still left with 17 more!


When I was getting out the stocking piece to photograph it, I came across this little scene in my living room. Not sure why she had to clear off the ottoman when there was a perfectly good and empty couch to sleep on right behind the ottoman. The joys of cats!

ETA: I bought the JCS 2008 ornament edition the other day. I have not had the time to read through it in depth, but there were several on the cover that caught my eye. So many beautiful projects to stitch and just not enough time in this lifetime!

Oct 5/08

There has been some progress made on the current stocking project. The camel heads are becoming more defined. Sorry for the fuzzy photo! I did not see the poor quality until after I had uploaded the photo onto my computer. This stocking is for my mother who as I write this should have arrived in Japan for a 3 week trip with her sister. I am SO excited for her because she is finally getting to visit the homeland of her mother. Now, I am sure that the Japan of today in no way resembles the Japan of the 1930s that my grandmother left behind to come to Canada, but there is something magical and profound about getting in touch with one's roots.


My neighbour did a wonderful job of fixing up these two pieces so that I can finally display them. The piece of embroidery on the left is a Fernando Llort inspired piece that I bought on my Habitat build in El Salvador in 2006 and the painting on the left was purchased in the Dominican Republic this year. Aren't they stunning? I just love the colours and I was absolutely amazed at the beauty of the embroidery. The back of the piece is almost as nice as the front!

Sept 28/08

Last night instead of studying, I stitched. Aren't you all glad to see that my priorities are in proper order?! LOL! I just could not concentrate on international affairs because my brain was still virus-addled. Actually, it is kind of funny to say that because on the one hand, I could not concentrate on a topic that I know fairly well and am just reviewing, but I could concentrate on an intricate pattern. Go figure.

So, now I am pondering a team name for my Mongolia trip. I am thinking that "Ensemble" may be a good word because it means together in both English and French and this team will be made up of Americans and Canadians. Now to see what the American co-leader thinks.....

Sept. 27/08

My stitching is moving slowly this week as a virus has decided to make me miserable since Monday. Going to work and university took all of my energy this week and my body grabbed back today as I was out cold for over 12 hours......asleep. Then, I ran a few errands and came home to sleep some more. Now, I am gearing up to do a little review work for a midterm that I have on Thursday in my International Relations class and mulling over the question for the take home exam in my Human Rights class which is due on Oct. 6/08. Just to make things more fun, I am working away at the Habitat for Humanity Mongolia trip and I go to the local high school on Tuesday at noon to recruit for the Rotary Youth Exchange. So much to do, so little time, no time to get sick, but loving every minute of it!

I would just like to take a moment to thank all of my wonderful friends. So many of you have been there through the years with me through thick and thin, in the good times and in the times when my life was a horrendous mess. Recently, things have just all clicked for me and my life is just ticking along in the most fabulous ways. Thanks for sticking it out with me and believing in me and thanks for being there. You know who you are, you know the story and you stuck around. Thanks.

Sept 21/08

While I was trying to decide which big project to tackle next, I dug into my stash of Christmas cards that I bought on sale at Lewiscraft a few years ago. Doing smalls makes me feel like I have accomplished alot, but I do need to get going on some of the larger projects that I have lined up for myself.


After finishing the card, I decided to tackle the next installment of my Christmas stocking project for my family. This one is "We Three Kings" from Cross My Heart. The design struck me as perfect for my mother who is a devout Anglican.


And this is just for fun. This is truly a face that only a cat crazy Mommy could love!

Sept 11/08

The baby quilt has been completed and is now waiting for a turn in the washing machine before being mailed off! School has started so I am uncertain about talking any large projects for the next few months because of a lack of time. My focus may be more on smalls to give away as Christmas gifts.


The remnants of Hurricane Hanna hit this region on Saturday night. My normally docile creek was a raging mass of brown water when I went out on Sunday to see what damage had been done in the neighbourhood. The brook had risen at least 5 feet in less than 12 hours because of all the rain. I did not have any flooding problems, but some of my neighbours had extensive water damage.


This little guy was hanging out on the side of the road on Saturday when I went out to my property in the country to get more wood to burn in my firepit. He sat there for a very long time so I just had to take his picture!

Sept 6/08

Well, I would have had a photo of the finished baby quilt if the kit had had enough floss to finish it! I had even had to use one skein that I had in my stash and that was still not enough so now I will have to wait until Tuesday when I go into the city to buy one more skein to finish it up! Grrrrr! The thing that really irritates me is that I am not a wasteful stitcher so the kit must have been very short on the colour for me to have to go through 2 skeins of DMC to finish it up. The poor cow on the bottom left only has 1 finished leg at the moment.

Aug. 31/08

OK, here is an update on the baby quilt. I started the backstitching last night as you can see on the border across the top. I have 4 days to get it done before my classes at the university start because I am certain that Dr. Jeffrey will fill up any remaining free time I currently have with lots and lots of readings on human rights and international politics, the topics for the 2 courses I am taking with her this fall semester.

A wee sidestep here, but related to the last bit of that last paragraph. The other day I found a box of stuff from my pharmacy school days so I hauled it out today to sort through it and get rid of the junk. Amongst the stuff I found in it, I found my grade reports from first and second year. Seeing the words "Organic Chemistry" still gives me the willies! There were several binders of class notes in that box as well. It is scary to see stuff that I understood perfectly well 18 or 19 years ago but they now look like hieroglyphics to me (amino acid structures!)! Did I just say "18 or 19 years ago"?!!

Aug 30/08

I bought a new bed in May and have been on the lookout for a new coverlet for the bed because my other one is getting tattered and I am tired of looking at it after 8 or 9 years of service! This new coverlet was found in the clearance section at Bed, Bath and Beyond in Bangor, ME a few weeks ago and completely fit my requirements on all levels: colour, style and price!! It is a king size, but the mattress is high enough that it is not a concern. The black blob is not a pillow, it is my cat who can pretty much be always found on the bed when she is not at her bowl. She has taken a liking to the coverlet as she used to sleep in the kitchen on one of the chairs....Definitely not living like a student anymore!!!

Not much stitching to report on although I have been plugging away at the latest baby quilt. The cross stitches are done and now I am working on the satin stitches. My satin stitching is sadly greatly out of practise, but I am regaining the hang of it.

Aug 21/08

So, you just never know what you might come across when you wander down the Main Street of my town. I mean, we are talking a small East Coast town of 4 500 people in the middle of geographic nowhere. Oh well, having the consulate just across the street from where I work will certainly come in handy when it comes time for me to apply for a visa to Mongolia next year for my Habitat trip. The consulate is right across the street from the monument celebrating the accomplishments of John Peters Humphrey,the man credited with being the architect of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, who was born here in Hampton. Oh! I could wax poetic forever about this place, but an old friend home from Montreal this week summed it up when he said, "We are so lucky to be from this place. It is so beautiful!"

Aug. 19/08

Last night I realized that I had not taken any photos of this cute little quilt to post on my blog. This quilt was started about 2 weeks ago and is stitching up very quickly. At first, I was unsure what I thought of it because it strikes me as being a little trendy and I was wondering what I would think of it in 20 or 30 years, assuming that the receiver keeps it forever as a keepsake. The more I stitch on it, the more it kind of grows on me. The colours are really cute and the little animals become more adorable as they appear on the hoop.

I was working on this quilt last night while watching Simon Whitfield battle his way to Olympic silver in men's triathlon at the Beijing Olympics. GO Simon!

Aug 17/08

I started this little cutie about 20 minutes after I bought it in Danbury, CT because it was a beautiful afternoon and I had not stitched anything in 5 days.......Sigh, at least it is a productive addiction! This kit is a Daydreams kit designed by Debbie Mumm. Dragonflies are so beautiful to watch as they dart around in the sky. I used to walk my dog in a marshy area where there were many dragonflies darting overhead so looking at this picture brings back memories of warm summer evenings out in the woods with my then-faithful companion Jessie.

Aug.16/08

I have a bit of a shopping problem and a strong Canadian dollar coupled with lots of bargain prices in the US resulted in this little stash explosion this week! The upside is that most of it will be stitched up and given away as Christmas gifts so I do not feel too guilty about it all! I have already started stitching the Daydreams Dragonfly as my stitching addiction is so strong that I could not resist the urge to stitch even though I was on vacation and had several books that needed to be tackled along with some research on the country of Mongolia. The vacation is almost over, but tomorrow should be a bang of a finish as a friend of university stops over on her way with her tribe from Ontario to Prince Edward Island and my family celebrates the fifth birthday of my nephew.

Aug 8/08

Yay! Another finish laundered and ready to head to the mail. This is going to one of my cousins who has almost completed her year long maternity leave. Nothing like squeaking under the wire! I am now well into the next quilt!

Aug. 5/08

The Teresa Wentzler bookmarks are stitched and about to be dropped into the mail on my way to work today!


For my birthday this year, my family took me on a boat tour of the Hampton Marsh. We saw beauty at every turn. My photos of the osprey and the eagle are not so good, but as you can see, I truly live in a beautiful and special place.

July 27/08

All other stitching projects were put to one side this week as I stitched like a mad woman when I had a few spare moments to do up this bib for a baby shower that I am going to this afternoon. To the man who puts grass in his car, see, I was not lying about not being able to help you move today! (Inside joke, he reads this blog regularly!) Not a bad finish for someone who just worked 6 days this week, did 2 6km runs and was out socializing every night this week!

July 23/08

More colour is bursting out all over my yard while few are appearing on any stitching projects I have on the go! I have been busy this week digging out my three compost bins (I am a bit obsessive) and spreading the soil on the lawn and in the flower beds. A garter snake had been making its home in one of the bins and I really do not know who was more frightened when it slithered out this evening, me or the snake!


This asiatic lily is the first one I planted and year after year, it produces impressive blooms.


With all the talk of hive collapse, my guess is that there is a very healthy hive somewhere around here because my flowers are all buzzing with bees and hummingbirds. A few years ago, I did a little reading about how to plant to attract bees and hummingbirds and I think that I have been wildly successful. I came across 2 hummingbirds this evening while I was out taking photos and the blooms are crawling and buzzing with bees. Besides, bee balm and company are so much more attractive than those ugly red hummingbird feeders I have seen at the hardware store and alot less maintenance!


This day lily has such a pretty colour and is a nice change from the yellows and pinks/reds of the rest of the flowers.


The rudbeckia, aka brown eyed susans, are making their appearance now. They are such a cheerful loking flower that make me smile when I come across them hidden between some of my shrubs at the edge of the lawn.


The purple coneflower is such an odd looking flower in my opinion. Perhaps because it is odd that I like it so much and have 4 or 5 purple and white ones planted in the front bed!

July 22/08

My stitching is coming along slowly! I just started the back stitching on the T. Wentzler bookmarks last night so they will probably not be in the mail on time. Instead of stitching, I have been busy enjoying the great weather we have been having by working out in the yard and hanging out with my friends. I even went for a 6km jog on Sunday! My stopwatch battery has died so I have no idea of my time, but I was thrilled that I completed my old loop and still felt like a human being afterwards!

My Habitat trip to Mongolia is on hold a bit until Habitat International finishes all of the restructuring that it is doing within its organizations. We have been told that no new trips will be accepted until at least September so I have been using the time to find out more information about Mongolia and to acquire some books about the country.

Without airing all of my family's dirty laundry, I would just like to say that life is too short and that family is all important. My mom used to say that at the end of days when the world is going crazy, your friends will be busy looking after themselves and their families and it is your family that will be the only people who are left to save your ass. (Ok, Mom might not have said the word "ass", but you get the idea) Please do not wait until it is too late to make any amends that need to be made if there is any chance that the situation could be salvaged. I know that this sounds kind of two faced coming from someone who does not speak to her own father and believe me, that is a demon I constantly wrestle with, but once the person is gone, it is too late.

July 14/08

I have been on vacation for the past week and did more reading than stitching, but here are a few pictures to share!

I stayed at a beautiful cottage in Marshville, NS, just outside of Tatamagouche. As you can see, the sunsets on the beach are fantastic.


And yet another sunset.


The tide was out, exposing the mudflats and the life therein.


As I was chatting over drinks and munchies about my next possible Habitat for Humanity trip which is looking like it will involve going to Mongolia with one of the guys I met in the Dominican Republic, I noticed this menu cover at Your Father's Moustache on Spring Garden Road in Halifax, NS (my favourite pub on my favourite street in my favourite city!!)!

When my brain slowed down each day from being crammed full of readings on colonialism, I would put a few stitches into these bookmarks designed by Teresa Wentzler. I have a deadline as they need to be in the mail shortly to friends who share the same birthday as me!

July 7/08

Recently, I noticed that my cat does this weird thing when she sleeps and she is usually dead asleep when she gets all twisted around like this. The only way I can wake her is by touching her because she does not hear her name as she is so deeply asleep. Last night while I was stitching, I finally remembered to have my camera by my side and this is what I captured. I am really not sure how this position can be comfortable, but Penelope does not seem to mind!