Oct 27/10

Postcard from Afghanistan! What a fantastic item to find in my mailbox today after work! Then I turned on the computer to see that my brother will be home in December and posted to CFB Gagetown. CFB Gagetown is about an hour away from where the rest of the family lives so we are very excited considering some of the alternatives like Edmonton.

Oct 21/10

There has been some stitching going on here, I promise! Nothing is finished enough to photograph just yet so instead I present my carrot muffins that I made last night. My best friend has a huge vegetable garden and she gave me a big bag of carrots last week to have for Thanksgiving. Several of my co-workers took home some of the carrots while these ones:

 became these last night:

I used a basic muffin recipe from my trusty Fanny Farmer cookbook but added a little more sugar and oil because of the shredded carrots that I added to the recipe. Straight out of the oven with a little butter made a little piece of heaven here last night!

Oct 17/10

I have finally been doing some thinking about the house I would like to build on the 10 acre property I have in the country. At the moment, this one is the front runner:

It is a pre-fab cottage built by a local company. There is one bedroom and bathroom at the back with an open kitchen, living room and dining room at the front which you are looking at right now. The view from my lot is a stunning view of the Kennebecasis River. When I was touring this cottage, I could so see myself sitting on the couch on the left side of the house with a fire in the fireplace, taking in the beauty of the sun setting behind the hills that form the valley. My bedroom would be the loft on the second level (you can see the windows of the loft through the upper triangular windows). How lovely it will be to lay in bed and to be able to look out across the valley.

The only problem is as I see it is that there are a few things that I would like that I need to ask the builder about because where it is pre-fab, I do not know how much lee-way I have in getting things like in-floor radiant heat instead of electric baseboard heaters and a on-demand water heater instead of the traditional tank. Oh well, if one does not ask, one will not know!

Oct 9/10

So, the other day I decided to do a little exploring in my own back yard because I am so so so guilty of having travelled far and wide, but not close by. All of my friends and family were at work on Wednesday so I hopped in the car and drove to Alma, NB which is on the edge of Fundy National Park. Here are some photos from my stroll on the beach:

 I was watching my footing because the mud flat/beach varied between muddy and rocky bits as the tide had gone out but the sand was not dry. As I was tripping and squelching along, I spied this little rock. If I had approached it from any other angle, I may never have seen the little face in it.

 This picture was taken from the little boardwalk across the street from where I parked my car. The tide was pretty much at its lowest point. It took me close to 15 minutes to walk from this point to as close as I could get to the water's edge without sinking in the mud.

 The harbour in Alma:

 The view from the restaurant where I had an awesome if somewhat expensive lobster roll:

 Me, thinking "Good Gravy! How far am I from the car?". That is Fundy National Park in the background.



Part 2 Oct 3/10

I was out to my property in the country this afternoon to do some work in and around the apple orchard since it was such a beautiful day here. Most of my time was spent cutting back raspberry canes that were growing around some of the trees. I had just collected up all my bits and pieces when I noticed this little guy scurrying up and down a couple of trees. He stopped to take a long nibble of this apple so I had lots of time to observe and then photograph him while he filled his little belly.

Oct 3/10

My ort jar is about to over flow so I captured its image for posterity before I wander over to the garbage can to empty it out. The reds that you can see are the result of the many Christmas ornaments that I have been working on! Orts have long been a fascination for me. I like to collect them and used to keep them in a large once-was-a-fish-bowl jar that took years to fill. Then, the decluttering inspiration hit so now I use a smaller jar and take photos before chucking out the contents. I mean really, what was the point of keeping all of those clippings except as a reminder of how much stitching I had been doing?

Oct 2/10

Some of my co-workers are entered in the Walk for The Cure this weekend so I did this up for them to raffle off:

The pattern comes from the Oct 2009 The Cross Stitcher and I found the frame at Michaels for a sweet 40% off! No mystery threads this time; I actually used the published floss list to stitch this one. I am tempted to go back and pick up a few more frames because I really like the look of this one even if the fancy matte is actually plastic. For $17.99 less 40%, it more than did the trick!

Sept 28/10

Well, what else to do on a wet and rainy morning besides pay bills and finish several little projects (submitting continuing education tests and fixing my bird feeder)? Oh yes! Update my blog. My needle has been going fast and furious in the evenings these past few weeks:

These first three ornaments are the almost finished versions of the bird stamp Dimension series that I purchased earlier this year. I am doing two at a time because I bought two of each, but have only taken a picture of one of each pair as an example of what I have been up to. The back stitching still needs to be done on all of them so they are far from complete although it is a nice feeling to at least have the main body completed.

 I am fascinated with cardinals these days after seeing a couple of them two years ago. They are making an appearance in our region of the country and I was lucky enough to have some of them in my yard. Birds are such amazing creatures and I am also very surprised that any survive in my yard because, yes, I am one of those cat owners who lets her cats out without bells. Before anyone yells at me, no one in my immediate neighbourhood has problems with mice so there are trade-offs. I used to put bells on my cats until the little beggars figured out how to adjust their collars on their necks so the bells did not ring.

 And who can resist Lizzie Kate? Not me! I have also been playing around with floss and fabric colours, using whatever I have on hand to stitch up these ornaments. I always keep the pattern photos close by while selecting the floss and stitching so that I remain true to the designer's original ideas in terms of colour and constantly refer back to the photos. These ornaments come from L*K's Tiny Tidings VII and XV.

 Last but certainly not least came this beautiful post card from my brother. At first I thought that it was a photo and then I looked at the caption on the back. This picture is titled "A Long Halt" and was painted by Silvia Pecota. You know that our soldiers have been there more than long enough when there are postcards of their missions.......



Sept 17/10

Stash picure for Christine (and others!). Here is what I managed to limit myself to last weekend when I was at the cross stitch shop, Because You Count, in Moncton. The fabric is even weave odds and ends. The rolls of linen were tempting, but my hands break out after handling linen any length of time.

And here is the result of using one of my new patterns and a piece of the odds and ends:

The threads were taken out of my trusty mystery thread box, of course. I have a couple of co-workers who are as cat-mad as I am so I am thinking about doing this one again, but maybe with a dark grey cat this time.

Well, off to workity work I go so that I can continue to feed both my stitching habit and my cats!

Sept 12/10

I realized as I was uploading pictures that I have yet to post a picture of Cooper, the most recent feline addition to my house. This picture is one that I took the other night while she was sleeping on the couch beside me as I stitched. It took her at least a month to feel comfortable here, the cool reception by the other 2 cats was part of the issue as was me going away for two weeks shortly after she joined us, but by the way that she is sleeping with a fully exposed belly, I would say that she is comfortable now!

And then there is darling Penelope who makes herself comfortable in the funniest of places:

Apparently, the kids in El Salvador need white cat hair on their school supplies. The hair must make learning easier or more fun or something! When she is not sleeping there, she hides out in the paper recycling basket which is where she just went to because I am not paying enough attention to her.

The 4 zucchini plants in my back yard are still being uber productive. So far this week, I have made a stirfry and spaghetti sauce with zucchini. Here are the muffins I made the other day:

 

Recipe:
3 cups grated zucchini unpeeled (I put mine in the blender)
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup oil
Mix in large bowl and set aside.

Sift together:
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Add dry ingredients to zucchini mix and blend. Then stir in 2 cups of whole wheat flour (I used all purpose because it was too late to run to the grocery store).
Drop into muffin tins and bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes.

I should post some pictures of the ornaments I am working on and of the stash I bought yesterday. Since I had to drive to Moncton yesterday to get something from my brother's house to mail to him in Afghanistan, I figured that a stop at Because You Count was a just reward for driving 150km to find a SCUBA license. I came away with a couple of Lizzie Kate Christmas ornament patterns and three rolls of odds and ends fabric left over from the cutting table. Again, if I ever stop blogging, just assume that the pile of stash that I have toppled over and that I am buried underneath it! :-)

Sept 6/10

Another postcard from Afghanistan:

The funny part was that my brother was actually home on leave when it arrived! Both postcards have taken almost 30 days to get here which is not bad considering there is no regular mail bag service out of KAF (they throw a bag on the plane if there is room). On the back he laments the soccer fever that gripped the base during the World Cup, probably amplified somewhat for him as his roommate at the time was from Holland!

And a little produce from my garden. Tomatoes and zucchinis are in abundance in my little garden this year. I am thinking that pasta and some kind of tomato and zucchini dish are in order for supper tonight. The grocery store here in town has some awesome local corn that I have now had 2 nights in a row for supper. Fresh corn, lots of butter, good friends, what more can one ask for?

Sept 3/10

Yikes! Where did the summer go? Mind you, this heat wave we are in at the moment is making us feel like summer is hanging on even though we are on the cusp of the Labour Day Weekend. I need to make a final inspection of my yard this afternoon to make sure that everything is secured or put away as Hurricane Earl is still expected to be classified as a hurricane when he passes over this region tomorrow. When I was out last night putting away my lawn chairs, I stopped to look at my brook which is really more of a series of stagnant puddles at the moment. I have lived here for over 10 years and have never seen that brook stop moving. The forecast is for several inches of rain tomorrow and we need it! This region is usually so lush and it still is compared to truly dry areas like Adelaide, Australia, but we need rain!

Despite the heat, I have managed to get some stitching done, mostly because it requires so little movement on my part so it was something I could do without sweating up a storm. I have also been on eBay and bought some more patterns because I needed them. If you are a Teresa Wentzler fan like me, a pattern like Diamond in Squares is absolutely irresistible!

Well, I should get going! I have to stop in to the post office to mail off a parcel for a friend in Mongolia and go for a 90 minute deep tissue massage (a treat to myself for all of the extra hours I have been working recently!). Then, who knows what I will get up to!

Aug 24/10

In my last entry I mentioned that I found some finished pieces so I thought I might post them. This one was done probably about 7 years ago as I stitched the matching quilt for my nephew when he was born:

Then, there was this piece that is reminiscent of what goes on in my house all of the time:

Just exchange the window and cushion for the floor mat in front of the patio door and you get the idea! Recently one poor little songbird was sacrificed to the feline hunting instinct but I did see some more little brave birds eating the berries off of my honeysuckle bush since then.

My current WIPs are the series of Dimension ornaments that feature birds, inspirational words and postmarks. These ones are the second one in a series of six that I have purchased:

And a wee warning before you scroll down further..................................................There are pictures of animal skulls, not something one would normally associate with cross stitching!

I was out clearing brush at the old apple orchard the other day when I almost stepped on this little skull. I found it so fascinating because it was so intact except for a few missing teeth. My lack of wildlife knowledge has me guessing as to what animal it may have been, but I am guessing that it may have been a fox or a similar animal. There was some fresh deer poop in and around the orchard as well, but I did not find that fascinating enough to photograph!

Aug 23/10

Hint hint hint that I may need to de-clutter this place----last night I found two completely stitched pieces that I had forgotten all about. I was moving some unopened kits around in an attempt to arrange them after some of them had fallen over because I was moving some paperwork that is stacked beside the kits and presto! a mystery bag. I opened the bag and there they were! On the big downside, I was finally getting my mystery thread box under control and now I have a big handful of left over threads to add to it from those two projects.

Clutter is a theme all over my house. I recently reclaimed a corner of my basement after giving away an old microwave that had been sitting in that corner for 2 years and getting rid of a bag of Christmas decorations to the Rotary Club table at the townwide yardsale. This weekend, I tackled my old car and found a bag of mittens that went to the Diabetes donation box and almost $6 in change which came in handy for coffee money today! Honestly! How does the clutter get so far ahead of me?

Aug 16/10

Not all of my artistic talents are stitching related:

I also do a great camouflage design, but I do not know how to obscure faces nor am I great at editing so I can not show you the sign my nephew and I made for his daddy.

A two week leave is just not long enough. How much longer will this insanity continue? I understand that the Afghan people want peace and stability just as much as anyone else in the world, but what about this little boy who fiercely misses his daddy? Why does he have to pay the price for the decisions made by the politicians and warlords?

Aug 4/10

Oops! Forgot to photograph this one and upload it! Another Joan Elliott on 28ct Lugana and stitched with mystery threads.

Aug 4/10

Over the weekend while visiting family and friends in Southern Ontario, I was showing my blog to my cousin's girlfriend so that she could see some of the things that I have stitched as she is into cross-stitch as well. While flipping through the blog, I came across several stash pictures of patterns that I had completely forgotten that I owned but apparently needed at the moment of purchase. Fast forward a few days when I was puttering around the house, I went through the pile of patterns on my book shelf and pulled out several to line up for stitching. If I do not post for a month or more, please come find me under the pile of patterns that has fallen over and suffocated me. Note to self: You really do not need to buy any more patterns. Ever.

July 29/10

Whenever my brother is away for an extended period of time for training or a deployment I try to send him a letter or a postcard once a week. The Canadian postal service has a sweet program where letters can be sent to armed forces personnel serving overseas without having to pay postage. In return, my brother sent me this post card of the valley where the Taliban destroyed the Buddha statues several years ago. The date stamp says June 30/10 and it arrived today. Not bad for having to travel all the way from Afghanistan through the Canadian military and civilian postal systems.

Another ornament stitched for the Christmas giving season:

This ornament is a Joan Elliott stitched on 28 Lugana and using my mystery thread collection once again! I usually take a quick look at the photos of the finished design to get the general idea of the colour scheme as envisaged by the designer before selecting what I have available to me in my mystery thread box. Every once in a while I do not do so well with my colour choices, but more times than not the design turns out quite well if I do say so myself!

July 25/10

The screen really distorts the image, but if you squint you can make out the day lilies, the thistles, the bee balm, the daisies and the other flowers for which I do not know their names! This is the view from my computer desk.

July 22/10 Part II

This post is brought to you first by a Lizzie Kate ornament:

stitched on 28 count Lugana and using mystery threads. I ignored L*K's colour suggestions because it is my ornament dagnamit! I also did a different stitch on the centre of the two-toned blue present. Because I am blissfully ignorant of actual embroidery terms, I can not tell you what it is, but bargello is coming to mind or perhaps a version of satin stitch. Someone help me out here! My brain is fried after only having one day off since a week ago Monday.

These two ornaments are some of the Dimensions series that I purchased from Mary Maxim a few weeks ago:

There are 6 in total and I bought two of each because I give the finished ornaments to my pharmacy assistants and since I work between 3 pharmacies, I have a few assistants to stitch for! So far, I really like these kits in that they are properly supplied and the stitching is pretty although not complicated. If anything, Dimensions has supplied too much floss as I stitched 1.75 ornaments with the floss kit from one kit! The mystery thread box is going to explode if I put much more into it which is why I stitched up the L*K to use some of its contents!

Well, it is off to bed for me as I have an important errand to run tomorrow morning!! Hello Nissan!