New Year's Eve

I hope everyone is looking ahead and forward to the New Year, if you're setting resolutions let them be realistic and obtainable! I'll talk about 2009 and beyond in my New Year's Day post (already mentally putting it together). I've got another day/evening of stitching ahead of me and looking forward to it.

I don't know, a happy dance on this one is looking like a long shot.

Here's another Photo Hunt, not as entertaining as the last this theme is "Lock"

I came across this barn door on one of my walks in the Brighton area. I just love the green paint, and if you look off to the left there's a nice rusty lock from Canadian Tire.

Progress, Purse and PhotoHunt

I had a great afternoon and evening yesterday just hanging out here at the house with Claire and Patrick... and it was FREEZING out yesterday so who would want to go anywhere? We watched movies and us girls stitched! I feel sorry for Claire, she's got this 101 Dalmatians project and you can just imagine how much white on white there is! She's a trooper though she stuck with it for longer than I thought she would!

Here's yesterday's progress on Lettres A Mon Chat, those cats take quite awhile to stitch up! I am now at the half way point with this project with only two days to work on it... will I make it?? Its pretty cold out again today and since I don't have to... I won't be going out!

Hunter was kind enough to model my new purse for us! I quite like it! I haven't had a chance to "try it out" yet but it does have all my stuff in it. Not a lot of room for extras though.

Today's PhotoHunt "Advertisement"

I saw this sign back in the summer of 2008 driving around Ottawa. Thought hmmmm am I the only one who immediately thinks of potty humour when reading this?

Lettres Progress

Yesterday Todd and I went out and did a little shopping, I got my new purse (thanks Todd!) a nice leather one from Danier like I had hoped. I'll save a picture of that for another post. We also picked up a tonne of DVD's. The collection was getting a little stale, I had put a whole bunch on my wish list and I didn't get one single DVD for Christmas! So we fixed that problem yesterday.





So while we watched DVD's in the afternoon and evening I stitched! I didn't make as much progress as I would of liked because a late afternoon nap became necessary. Then in the evening I did my run.

Today Claire (my BF from Florida) and her husband Patrick are in the area visiting family and are coming to spend the afternoon/evening with us!

And They All Fell Down

We had freezing rain starting in the wee hours of Boxing Day (to those of you who are not Canadian or British, that's commonly known as December 26th). It continued to rain on and off throughout the day with the temperatures hovering around the freezing mark. Which leads to freezing rain. Not only did we loose power for at least an hour and a half (thank goodness for our generator, we even ran an extension cord to the living room so I could hook up my Ott-Lite!), but we lost some of our trees at the front of our property. Which means we've lost some of our privacy from the road!

My driveway... looks pretty dosen't it?

The tree(s) that came down looking at them from the house.

The tree(s) that came down looking at them from the road, you can kinda see my house behind the trees.

Well I got in little to no stitching today because Todd and I had two parties to go to and boy I'm pooped (and stuffed, and yup I ate all the bad stuff too, gonna pay for that at the scale for sure!)

Latest Project and PhotoHunt

I was going to pull out Tour Des Marques and work on that but when I saw I only need one more HD to hit 55 for 2009 I pulled out Lettres A Mon Chat by Isabelle Vauthier instead. I figure this is fastest stitch I have on the go. If I think I'm not going to finish it by New Year, I'll have a little ornament kitted up ready to go instead!

Today was certainly a day to stay indoors! We had hoped to go out shopping and hit some of the Boxing Day sales (need a new purse), but the freezing rain kept us in. We did loose power for about 2 hours, and as it was getting dark some of our trees came down. I'll try to get some pictures of the damage tomorrow when its light.

This PhotoHunt theme is : Book(s)

Students reading in my library. I love seeing the kids like this!

Merry Christmas!

I'd like to wish all my family, friends and blogging friends a very Merry Christmas! I hope the day is full of happiness and joy.

Today has been a loooong day! Todd and I were up early with the birds, as I had a little last minute shopping to do and I wanted to get to the store not long after it opened (7am). I was able to get my last bits of food, gifts, and stocking stuffers.

It was while we were shopping I noticed... the horror! The strap on my $10 Wal-Mart purse had broken! Argh I loved that purse!!! I took a quick look in the store (aka Wal-Mart) but nothing caught my fancy and there was nothing comparable. I told Todd he could take me to Danier Leather on Boxing Day and get me a nice leather purse, LOL!

From there we went out for breakfast at our favourite place, this is tradition we started last year. Its a nice way to start the day since we celebrate the season with my side of the family on Christmas Eve. We came home to unpack, clean the house, make lasagna, and relax before everyone showed up for dinner. I got the best gift ever from my baby brother, a proper flash to go with my Cannon Rebel! Yay, now I can take great pictures in dim or big rooms. The pop-up flash on my camera just wouldn't do the trick.

At 11:59 pm I celebrated a Christmas Eve Happy Dance! (photo taken with snazzy new flash, after midnight, what a great job it did!)

Mini Spanish Cottages 6

c2004 Michael Powell

Stitched on : 14ct Aida

Stitched with : Anchor cotton

As usual I just adore Michael Powell's they're so fun and colourful!

The other day I finished up yet another ornament to add into a gift basket for my TKD instructor.

I hope everyone has a great Christmas Day, we'll be celebrating with Todd's family.

Finally... Stitching

I haven't really sat down and stitched for awhile now! I had intended to stitch this past weekend, but it seems I spent more time napping. Catching up for all those lost zzzzz's over the last few months I suppose.

Tonight I sat down (after a massage, some Christmas shopping, a nap, and my TKD class) and worked on Michael Powell's Mini Cottages 6 and here's where it stands.

Last Concert For 2009

Tonight Christin and I went to our last concert for 2009, but don't you worry we've already got two concerts lined up in 2010!

This concert was a great one to wrap up 2009, it was Three Days Grace and opening for them was Default and The Used. I had a great time tonight, and here are a few highlights.

Default

The base player for Default had great dreads!


Default's Lead Singer

The Used, quite a heavy band... I didn't like this band at all. Christin and I spent this whole act texting each other.

Three Days Grace lead singer

What's a rock concert without pyro???

Their drummer was really rocking it too!

I could of taken this guy home he looked like a big cuddly teddy bear!

Last night Todd and I went to a Christmas party, and I finished up this ornament as a hostess gift.

Thank You Secret Santa! And Ornament Details!

First of all thank you to a very kind Stitching Secret Santa out there who reads my blog! Today I got a wonderful surprise in my inbox! A $25 gift certificate for eHandcrafts Online! Wow I now get to do some online shopping and get some stitchy goodies, something I haven't done that often this year! This is the second Christmas in a row I've gotten this wonderful and generous surprise!

I've gotten many comments asking me about the ornament in my last post. The truth is it isn't really an ornament. It was meant to be stitched on those fancy perforated paper forms to be a part of a scrapbook page saying Christmas Memories (which I omitted).

Christmas Memories

Just Cross Stitch - December 2008

Even More Ornaments!

Sadie's exchange ornament finally made it here yesterday! It took over a month to get here from across the pond, but it was worth the wait!

Saide stitched up this Prarie Schooler Santa up for me, she picked him because of his musical instruments and my love of concerts. Thanks Saide I love it!

Tonight I finished off a few more ornaments that I'll be giving away tomorrow. I've not had the time to dedicate to finishing as I'd like to so I've been settling for the sewing machine which is the fastest.

Tomorrow (Friday) is my last day of work before the Christmas Break! I can't wait to be off for two weeks, its been a long haul to get there this year!

Ornaments, Ornaments Everywhere!

First of all, I received Heather's ornament for our personal exchange today! Its so pretty, I don't think I've ever seen the design.

Tonight I finished stitching (and finished) my last (I promise its the last!) monogram!

Red Threads Letter "S"

c2002 Rosewood Manor

Stitched on : 28ct Ivory Jubilee

Stitched with : DMC 115

Then I put the cording on several more! I still have more ornament finishing to get done!

"My Pick Is Broken, Man I Must of Rocked It Hard"

Yes, this post's title is a little strange isn't it?

Last night Christin and I went to the National Arts Center to see Matthew Good, another Canadian band I quite enjoy, this is the third time I've seen him in concert. As usual I can't go to an event without running into someone I know and/or students from work. Of course I ran into a few students, LOL we were even sitting in the same row.

Anyhow the post's title is something Matt Good said and I thought it was just hilarious. He was talking about one thing and then matter of factly says "Oh my pick is broken, man I must of rocked it hard". I have to say he has some interesting points of view LOL.

Christin and I have another concert adventure coming up, next Sunday the 20th we're going to see Three Days Grace at Scotiabank Place.

The opening band was Mother, Mother from Vancouver. The were.... odd. I think that's the best way to put it. (in the photo above)

Matt Good

Matthew Good and his band (the guitar player on the left was just amazing)

Another ornament exchange arrived at its destination this week! This exchange was with Sadie, and the ornament had to make its way across the pond. I stitched this up at the retreat I went to in November. Its stitched over one.

Joy of Christmas

c2009 My Big Toe Designs

JCS 2009 Christmas Ornament Preview Issue

Stitched on : 28ct Victorian Red Lugana

Stitched with : DMC 5200

Today I finished up my last ornament happy dance (the Gazette finish) and gave it as a gift to a friend from work who is off on maternity leave. We got together for a great lunch today, and I got to cuddle her new baby Ella, she is so sweet.

Awhile ago I won Becky's Birthday draw on her blog and I got this great parcel in the mail this week! Heinzit's Rudolph, a Christmas fat quarter, bead embroidery needles (which I needed!), and some mini altoids. Thanks Becky that was so fun to get in the mail!

Personal Ornament Exchange Received

This year I paired up with two other bloggers for personal ornament exchanges. The first one has arrived at its new home! I stitched up this freebie for Heather

Beginner's White Work Ornaemnt - Freebie

cTeresa Wentzler

Stitched on 30ct Macaroon Lakeside Linens

Stitched with DMC 5200

We're expecting a huge snow storm to blow in during the wee hours of the night. It'll be interesting to see how long its going to take me to get into work!

More Mini Cottages and a Photo Hunt

I had a nice evening at home tonight after hitting the gym. It felt really odd not running off to Taekwon-Do tonight but on the other hand it was nice to get in a few hours of stitching!

So here's where Mini Cottages 6 stands as of tonight.

I keep meaning to share this! Late last week I got the cutest Christmas card from Judy with these beautiful hand dyed fibers! Thank you Judy!!! It was a great surprise!

Now onto a PhotoHunt! The theme for this one is "Plastic", boy this one was a challenge for me going through my photos from the last year.

These Chinese Lanterns I found on the ground behind one of the buildings in the Chinese Gardens at the Montreal Botanical Gardens. They were made of plastic.

Taekwon-Do at the Santa Clause Parade

Today was the Santa Clause parade in the town where I go to Taekwon-Do. It was a cool and mostly sunny day. I'll just let the pictures do the talking.

Did you know that Santa has a 6th Degree Black Belt in Taekwon-Do?


The whole parade gang! I'm hiding top back right.

The kids were so well behaved and sang Christmas Carols the whole route!

All smiles!


Me and my buddy Kyler!

I've worked a little bit on Mini Cottages 6 this weekend and here is where its at!