Happy Halloween!

How many Ghosts and Goblins will be at your house tonight? DH and I aren't sure because this is the first time that we've lived in the vicinity of children. It should be interesting...NOT! I've been assigned the door >:o( DH doesn't have the last laugh though because I'm chaining him downstairs with me ;oP

When I was out this week, I bought candy and chocolate bars. Gotta have a balanced diet, right? LOL! I know that whatever we have leftover we'll eat and that's probably not a good thing so maybe I should be hoping for a good number of Trick or Treaters :o)

Yesterday, DH and I went to a farm and handpicked our pumpkins. We used to carve a Jack-o-Lantern every year for Halloween when we first went out but then our tradition went by the wayside and I have no idea why. Anyway, last night we were elbow deep in pumpkin guts and then this morning DH carved them out. Here's his -

And this one's mine -

DH said it looked like me so that's why the tongue is sticking out ;oP LOL!

You want to know something awesome???? We have Pumpkin TV!!!! I'm not kidding -

About every five minutes, the pumpkin changes :o) DH says we're NOT watching it. I say he'd better be nice to me or else he'll be handing out the candy tonight...

I hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween! I'm off to hunt down some horror movies :o)

Pumpkin Day Winners!

Where have I been? To be honest, I'm not sure. I've been here in body but definitely not in mind. I've been desperately trying to crawl out from this funk I've been in but it's been quite difficult. I apologize for making everyone wait :o(

Well I'm here now so let's get on with it! Even though there were some good entries, the winner of the Jack-O-Lantern contest was hands down and went to Cindy for her brilliant design -

Cindy knows I'm a huge Bon Jovi fan and added the BA smiley face from their Have A Nice Day CD onto her pumpkin. Sigh! Maybe this is what our children would look like ;o)

There seemed to be a decrease in numbers this year but that was good for Nia because her name was drawn as the winner of the Pumpkin Stalker contest :o) Congrats Nia!

Prizes will be mailed out next week so keep your eyes peeled for the mailman!

I want to thank everyone who joined in on the fun last week and I hope everyone got their copy of the Happy Pumpkin Day freebie that I sent out. It seems that Irene used her smokin' needles because she finished it already! It was so exciting to see so check out her Blog for a picture :o)

Happy, Happy Pumpkin Day!

Welcome to the second annual Pumpkin Day festivities! I hope you're ready for some fun because there's a wide range of activities to take part in. So grab a cup of coffee, sit back and most of all...enjoy :o)

Did you know?

- that pumpkins are 90% water.
- that pumpkin flowers are edible.
- that six of the seven continents can grow pumpkins (can you guess which one can't?).
- that pumpkins are actually a fruit.

Recipes -

Besides being used for the classic Pumpkin Pie, pumpkins are versatile in so many other ways. Maybe give one of these recipes a try for yourself :o)

Baked Harvest Pumpkin & Sage Risotto is one dish I've been anxious to try. DH makes a mean risotto so I figure this new twist could prove to be quite delicious!

I have personally tried this recipe - Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie. When I say 'tried', I mean eaten ;o) My SIL made it one year and it was fan-tas-tique.

When it comes to pumpkin, the fruit is not the only thing you can eat! The seeds are just as yummy and how good does Coriander & Pumpkin Seed Crusted Scallops sound? Mmmmmm...

Games -

Okay, maybe not the most highly entertaining but hey, what's a party without games? LOL!

In Pumpkin Run, the aim of the game is to gather as much candy as you can without the bats and ghosts interfering.

This is by far my favourite! As The Pumpkin, it's your job to scare the kiddies and grab their candy :o) Am I evil or what?

Pumpkin Carving -

Try out your carving skills either here or here. How good are you at making a Jack-O-Lantern?

Contests -

How good are you at making a Jack-O-Lantern? Are you ready to be put to the test? In order to enter this contest, leave a comment (on this post only) with a link to your entry :o) Be creative! Carve a real pumpkin, draw a picture or just take a picture of a stitched pumpkin. Let's see what you've got!

Want to be entered into the second giveaway? It's simple! Either be or become a Pumpkin Stalker :o) Don't know how? Visit your Blogger Dashboard page and at the bottom it gives you a chance to add the address of the Blog you want to follow. Just remember, leave a separate comment (on this post only) saying that you've done this!

In order to give everyone a fair chance, these contests will be open until Friday, October 23 at midnight EST.

Prizes?

A treat bag will be awarded to the winner of each contest :o) What's in them you ask? HA! That's a surprise. Let's just say there will be sweets, smiles and stitchy stuff. Have fun and good luck!

Double Trouble

Well it appears that Duncan is experiencing a better social life than I am. To be honest, that's probably not too hard right now... Since DH and I have been taking him on walks, he's met at least a half dozen other dogs. Some he'll ignore, others he'll sniff but there's one lady that he's quite enamoured with :o) I haven't seen Duncan this gaga since his crush on Calamity Jane (a Boxer). This little lady is an Airedale Terrier but I don't know her name. Each time they meet, they just have to greet each other and from what we can see, she's just as taken with Duncan.

On the weekend, Duncan finally got to meet one of his kind. There's another Australian Cattle Dog in our area and he's a red one too! Although he is smaller than Duncan, he's got all the telltale marks of a Cattle Dog. It was funny talking to his owners because we got to compare notes and they both do the exact same things :o) Too funny. They couldn't get over how big and muscular Duncan was. I'm not sure if he's big for his breed but he is a sturdy fellow and if you saw him running at you straight on, I can guarantee you'd be gunning it in the opposite direction. LOL!

Last Thursday, DH and I went to the big city. While we were there, Duncan went to the groomers :o) He didn't seem too upset when we picked him up so it must have been a good experience for him. He's now super clean and smelling good! We've moved him into the main house and bought him a huge doggie bed at Costco. It smells like cedar and it's actually nice enough that I want to curl up in it! So far, so good with this new move and Duncan is extremely happy to be around us full-time now :o)

I finally completed my Chickadee!

One bird down and three more to go to finish my Birds & Berries by The Prairie Schooler. I love the colors. I wasn't too sure at first but now that the greens and reds are in there, I've warmed up to it. I think I'm going to go upwards and stitch the top bird next (a Nuthatch possibly?).

Before that, I want to stitch up a little ornament first. I started it yesterday and it shouldn't take too long to complete. I'm not going to tell you what it is though. Gotta keep some things secret you know ;o)

Only two more days until...

There will be games, prizes and lots of fun. Hope to see you there!

"Useful" Dribble

Have you ever been to a party or function and felt that you had nothing to say? Well let me help you! Here is some useful dribble that you can spew the next time you find yourself in such a position, plus, it might make you look smart too ;o)

- "stewardesses" is the longest word typed with only the left hand.

- "lollipop" is the longest word typed with your right hand.

- "typewriter" is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.

- no word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver or purple.

- "dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".

- the sentence: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter of the alphabet.

- the words "racecar", "kayak" and "level" are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes).

- there are only four words in the English language which end in "dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous and hazardous.

- there are only two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: "abstemious" and "facetious".

Some Of My Favourite Things

I thought that I would share with you some of the things that I CANNOT live without. Okay, I 'can' live without them but I really don't want to ;o)

First up, and high on the list, is my new iron. This puppy is FANTASTIC! I never thought that I would love an iron as much as I love this one. And it even changes colors! I shit you not. LOL!

Isn't it pretty? This is Thermocolour by Russell Hobbs. I was quite surprised at the decent price considering how nice this iron is. It's got a ceramic plate and it glides oh so effortlessly over fabric :o) Check out their website to see the colors in action and if you live in the UK, you can enter to win one!

Having a bad day? You've come home from work and you just want to drink your sorrows away but you don't want after effects of a hangover? Well I've got just the thing :o) Why not kick back a few Mocktail Mojitos -

These are so yummy! A refreshing lime taste that goes down so easy on a hot summer day. Ahhhhh!

Okay, next up, it's that time of the month and you're craving...something. You just can't put your finger on it. I found, well Ben & Jerry's found 'the' perfect solution with their new ice cream Everything But The... -

OMG! This is like at least five ice cream flavours in one. How could you not go wrong with that?

So those are some of my favourite things. Have you found something that's so awesome that you want to share it? Love to hear about it :o)

Happy Thanksgiving Canada!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day, stuffing themselves with turkey and pumpkin pie :o) DH popped a small turkey in the oven yesterday and it filled the house with wonderful smells. But alas, no pumpkin pie for the Pumpkin :o( I think I might have to get one at the grocery store this week to satisfy that craving. It won't compare to homemade but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. LOL! I did suggest going to Tim Horton's for one of their pumpkin spice donuts but that didn't go over well ;o)

After all the clean up (seriously, how do our mother's do it????), we drove to our nearby sand beach and took Duncan for a walk. It was so nice with the sun setting, the waves rolling in and not another human being in sight. DH got to meet the local fox cub. He's grown so much and looks really healthy. He's not that afraid of humans, which concerns me. This was a picture of him that I took in early August -

A few of you inquired about when I would show another picture of Birds & Berries so here is an updated picture -

I have been devoting my time to it and I'm pretty pleased with the progress. I find it much more interesting now that the greens and red/pinks are being added. I know I'm getting ahead of myself but I find myself debating whether to start the next bird on top or bottom. Decisions, decisions ;o)

I see that I have quite a few new Stalkers! I want to welcome you to the Pumpkin Patch :o) Please feel free to leave comments. I hope you'll stick around for Pumpkin Day because that will be coming up real soon and boy, did I ever go crazy with pumpkins this year! LOL!

Tenth Finish For 2009

Ladies, ladies, ladies...(shaking head). I think only two of you hazarded a guess :o( That's okay because I didn't think you'd end up guessing anyway. I really tricked you on this one ;o) Here is Christmas Sampler by The Needle & I -

Huh? "Where did you get this pattern?" you ask? LOL! It's actually from the November/December 1988 issue of Just Cross Stitch, the Special Holiday Issue. I told you that you'd never guess ;o) I received this magazine, along with many others, from a wonderful family member. It's pretty neat to look back and see patterns by Sheepish Designs, The Sweetheart Tree and The Prairie Schooler, just to name a few.

I stitched this design on 32 count Driftwood I don't know. For the life of me, I cannot think of the name of this fabric! It's got a white thread going one way and a brown thread going the other so that they are weaved together. Anyway, I really dislike the stuff! Having the white blended in sure made it hard to keep count sometimes. I'd have to keep moving my work around to catch the right light. Unfortunately, I want to stitch (a simple) back for this and I don't relish the idea of stitching on this fabric again :oP

So what's next? I picked up my Birds & Berries by The Prairie Schooler again. I thought I had better pay that some attention. LOL! I'm still up in the air about which fabric to stitch my Quaker Lady & Gentleman on. So much so that I've put up a poll on the right hand side of my Blog. Please vote and give me some direction!!!!

Since this is Breast Cancer Awareness month, I thought I would make you 'aware' of a wonderful giveaway that Jennifer is doing. She has put together a beautiful pink package in honour of this important month. So please check out her Blog and enter this fantastic contest :o)

Do you know what the meaning of pointless is? It's taking your clean underwear out of the washer, shaking it out and flinging it halfway across the basement only to land on the floor that is covered with dirt and dog hair :oP

A Fun Fall Day

Autumn has definitely arrived and I'm loving it :o) The air is crisp, the leaves are full of color and there are pumpkins everywhere! This is my favourite time of year. I love driving by houses and seeing them all decorated with bales of hay, pumpkins and corn stalks. Most of the tourists are gone and the beaches are mine once again. LOL!

The only beach that we have that is of walking distance from the house is a rock beach. That's okay though because where there are rocks, there is usually sea glass :o) Lately, DH and I have been walking Duncan down there so we can paw through the rocks. Today I walked Duncan down there and while he wadded in the water, I started searching. When we come home, we've been adding our bounty to a glass container -

There are very few large pieces on this beach but that's okay. We've been finding lots of little blue pieces but red is the Holy Grail. One day I found a teeny, tiny flake of red. Nothing since though. Rats! That's okay because it just means the search will continue.

My stitching mojo has been pretty crappy lately. Since I accomplished my goals for 2009, I have no direction. I'm having such a hard time deciding what to stitch so I've been sticking to smaller projects. I thought it might be appropriate to stitch a Christmas ornament for the first year in our new house. I'm not sure if this will be the one but this is what I have got done so far -

I bet you can't guess who the designer is, and no, it's not me ;o)

I think I would like to start the Quaker Lady & Gentleman but I'm not sure what count I want to stitch them on. I have 28 count Antique White Lugana or 32 count Antique White Linen. Which would you pick?

Don't forget to check out my previous post to get your breast cancer freebie :o)

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

As most of you know, I'm a breast cancer survivor...of nine and a half years :o) Therefore, this is a very important month to me. Throughout October, you'll see money being raised for breast cancer research but it's just as crucial that awareness accompany that to the same degree.

People always think that it will never happen to them, and I have to admit, I was one of them. But breast cancer does not discriminate. Whether you're talking race, history, gender or age, it doesn't matter. I was a 28-year-old white female who didn't drink (excessively) or smoke, with no history of breast cancer in my family. Can you see why I thought I would be one of the last people to worry about it?

Did you know...

• that in 2009, it is estimated that 22,700 women in Canada will be diagnosed with breast cancer?

• that in 2009, it is estimated that 180 men in Canada will be diagnosed with breast cancer?

• that in Canada, a woman has a 1 in 9 chance of developing breast cancer in her lifetime?

• that the current 5 year survival rate in Canada is 87%?

According to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation's web site, there are five steps to being breast aware -

1. Know how your breasts normally feel and look.
2. Know what changes to look for.
3. Look and feel for changes.
4. Report any changes to your doctor.
5. If you are of the appropriate age, or it is recommended by your doctor, go for a mammogram.

Most of all...EARLY DETECTION IS THE KEY!

There are ways that 'you' can help fight this awful disease. Whether it's walking/running, donating or raising money or awareness, you'll be contributing to the whole. I make my donation on a monthly basis. If you have the time, be creative! Tammy certainly has :o) And I'm going to join her! So, as my gift to you, I have designed another breast cancer pattern. I have two criteria to obtaining this pattern though...you must leave a comment (with a means to contact you) on this post only and...spread the word :o) I hope you enjoy!

A Cluck Clucking Thank You

When I arrived home from Halifax and picked up my mail, I had a wonderful surprise there waiting for me! Look and see -

Sharon (Daffycat) put together the most adorable (and suitable) package for me :o) I now believe that I have THE last Cadbury Easter Cream Egg out there until January 2010. LOL! How long will it last? I'm not sure....

The bunny itself is hilarious because it actually clucks! DH is ready to throw it out and Duncan looks at it like he wants to eat it. Luckily he is stashed in my stitching room, away from harm.

Do you see the pumpkin tag? Sharon designed it herself just for me! You can get the pattern from her Blog though so make sure you stop by. I just LOVE everything you sent Sharon and I want to send you a HUGE thank you :o) Your RAK is too sweet for words and I'm honoured to have a piece of your beautiful stitching.

In case you haven't seen, the next big event celebrated here at the Pumpkin Patch has been posted and the days are being counted down. For those of you who weren't here last year, Pumpkin Day is an actual day and we celebrate in style! There will be games, trivia and prizes so don't forget to mark your calendars and I hope to see you here on October 21 :o)