A Much Needed Rant!

I'm not sure just how much more I can take... A journey is one thing but when it turns into a rollercoaster ride, that's another. You can't get off those as easily and the constant ups and downs are enough to drive you crazy. I want to scream, curse, cry, shout and literally curl up in a ball; never to re-immerge. I want to yell that life isn't fair but that doesn't change a thing. One day cancer is going to kill me and I have no control :o( Nada.

Awhile ago DH and I thought that things were looking positive. It seemed like the Calyx was working and the spots on my chest looked as if they were getting better. I made the mistake of letting my guard down. I was beginning to think that this could be the right drug and maybe remission was possible but how wrong I was. This past weekend I found a group of spots on my back, very similar to the early stages of the ones on my chest. It does not look good :o( This Friday I'll have another CT Scan to see what's going on. I doubt it will be good news.

To add insult to injury, it looks like my Chemo will be put off. Right now I have a swollen lymph node in my right leg that's causing it to swell big time. In order to reduce it, the doctors are talking radiation. Okay, I can handle that. The problem I have is that I will have to be away from Junior and my Chemo is put on the back burner; both for an unknown amount of time. Due to the type of Chemo I'm taking, it cannot be given at the same time as radiation. So basically I'm gambling; fix the leg but risk being unprotected or continue on with my Chemo and live with the disability the swelling is causing. How do we know if we've made the right choices?

I can't explain to you how hard it is to watch your life go by, only to know how it's going to end. I suppose only people in this situation know what I'm talking about. I look at Junior every day and wonder how much of his life I'm going to miss. Will I make it to his fifth or twelfth birthday? Will he remember his mother and know how much she loved him? Will he resent me for dying and leaving him alone without a mother?

I know my little man will be in good hands :o) This is not easy for DH either and I think he's terrified of the idea of being a single parent. My parents just bought a house here and will continue to live here as long as they are needed (they still have their home in NB). I've totally changed their lives even though I'm being reassured that this is what they want to do. I'm very blessed and grateful that they are here for us but it's still not easy for me to see what I've done to them. What's it like for them knowing that their only child has cancer and that they might outlive me?

Oh how I want to just break down and have a temper tantrum! To kick my legs and flail my arms about, all the while screaming "Why?" Why did this have to happen to me? Why did I end up with cancer? Why do I deserve this? Why do I have to be taken away from my DH and DS? Why can't I have another ten years to watch my child grow?

At least my suffering will end someday. What I worry about most are those that are left behind :o( How are they going to cope? Will I be able to watch over them? I'd like to think so but that's a whole other conversation for another time. Thanks for listening if you've gotten this far ;o)

The Case Of The Missing Blogger

Yes, that's me. Where have I been? More importantly where has the time gone???? The last thing I remember was finishing Sabrina and beaming like a proud mother but then the next thing I knew, I felt like I was curled up in a corner feeling completely lost :o( I know I've had these feelings before after finishing a big project but not to this extent!

Would you believe that Tuesday night was the first time I picked up a needle since Sabrina was done? It's a pitiful start but I'm trying to get back in the game. I'm quite disappointed in myself because I didn't meet my goal last month and now I'm one block behind on my Christmas Rules SAL :o( Geesh! I've got to get it together!

I was so proud of myself too because I not only finished Sabrina but I was up to date on my Blog reading too ;o) Now I'm W-A-Y behind again...

Did I mention we went about three weeks without mail? Argh! That definitely didn't help my mood any >:o( Things are starting to trickle in but I'll wait a bit before I post some pictures.

This past weekend, DH and I went on our first vacation of the year! We went with our friends T and K (along with their DS) and went camping at Kejimkujik National Park :o) Here's our site -

I didn't even take any pictures, that's how pathetic I am. Ugh! We had an awesome time though. I learned that it isn't fun getting up in the middle of the night to pee, S'mores just aren't the same as when we made them as kids and I can annoy a five-year-old ;o) LOL!

Keji is a beautiful park and there was plenty of wildlife to see. There was more than enough deer, a pesky raccoon that figured out how to open our small cooler, robins, bald eagles, osprey, black bear and mosquitoes, of course ;o) They really weren't that bad around the campsite but on our hike I thought they were going to carry us away. All in all, I'm anxious for our next trip!

I want to thank everyone for their wonderful comments on Sabrina! I was blown away at the number of people and I've tried to respond to everyone that I could. I truly appreciate you all. I thought for sure I'd lose some Stalkers because of my absence but it seems there might be a giveaway in the near future ;o)

40-4-40

Today is the big day! Yes, I'm officially 40 and DH is married to an older woman ;o) LOL!

I've had a wonderful weekend so far. This morning I woke up to homemade stuffed French toast by DH and this gorgeous charm bracelet by Amos Pewter -

DH added the hummingbird to represent the new flower bed that we put in. The ocean theme is self explanatory ;o) I just LOVE it and can't wait to add more charms in the future.

Yesterday we spent the day with our good friends T & K. We went to see The Hangover II and I have to say...I haven't laughed SO much and SO hard in quite a long time :oD I also have to say that the second was MUCH better than the first! LOL! Afterwards we went out for Chinese food and then back to our place for cake. Lookie what DH did -

He got me a PUMPKIN CAKE!

How awesome is that?

There's been a lot of pondering going on lately and after seeing The Hangover II, I just knew I had to share with you my 40-4-40 list :o) Within the next year, I'd like to accomplish the following forty things -

1. Travel to Sable Island.
2. Start exercising again.
3. Travel someplace new.
4. Lose five pounds.
5. Learn a new talent/craft.
6. Meet a fellow Blogger face to face.
7. Sell forty pictures through my Etsy store.
8. Go go-karting.
9. Help someone less fortunate.
10. Eat something new.
11. Have an article or story published.
12. Sent out four RAKs.
13. Frame four cross stitch pieces myself.
14. Start meditation classes again.
15. See a play or concert.
16. Finish painting 'the fence'.
17. Go horseback riding.
18. Go to a drive-in movie.
19. Learn to fire a handgun.
20. Go to the premiere of Breaking Dawn.
21. Finish Sabrina.
22. Learn more about the history of Nova Scotia.
23. Read forty new books.
24. Get Sabrina framed.
25. Buy Christmas gifts from local/Etsy artisans.
26. Find an antique fireplace mantle.
27. Visit The Museum Of Natural History in Halifax.
28. Send my Gram a note a month.
29. See horses in the wild.
30. Make more jewellery.
31. First time phone call with a fellow Blogger from a different country.
32. Donate pictures to the mammography unit at the hospital.
33. Treat myself to a spa day.
34. Try yoga.
35. Visit The Maritime Museum Of The Atlantic in Halifax.
36. See forty new movies.
37. Go whale watching.
38. Run around outside in the pouring rain.
39. Eat at a five star restaurant.
40. Be happy.

I know some of these goals will be met; some are possible, a few are probable and a couple are long shots but it will be fun to see how well I do :o)

I want to thank everyone for their birthday wishes and I'll be sharing with you some lovely gifts in my next post!

Rumble & Roll

Well if last night was like watching a rock n' roll band, it would have been one awesome concert! We had one wicked thunder and lightning storm that lasted from about 11pm to 2pm. How do I know? I was awake :oS

It was one rumble and boom after another; followed by flashes of light so bright, it was like daytime. We lost power sometime before midnight and it never came back on until early this morning. One disadvantage to having a modem...you can't surf the internet when the power goes out >:o(

Things have been busy around the Pumpkin Patch. The sun has finally shown itself and we don't dare stare at it for fear we might startle it and it disappears ;o) LOL! DH and I have been doing a lot of yard work and it's looking so good out back. I want to show you pictures but we need to get rid of some piles before I take pictures. We've discovered that there is one thing we 'can' grow in our yard and that's rocks! DH has taken 2-3 truck loads out of here and there's still about 1-2 left.

I guess because I'm not working, DH felt the need to make me feel important and assigned me head painter of our fence project. I'm now responsible for staining the fence. Yay. Do you know how hard it is to paint lattice work???? Ugh! At least I started with the hardest part so maybe it will just get better from here. That's what I'll just keep telling myself anyway ;o) My friend K owes me a favour after I helped paint her living room but I don't think I'll torture her with this. LOL!

A few weekends ago, DH and I went for a drive to Chester. We were hoping to pick up some plants and hit a few yard sales but it was SO cold! I didn't even want my ice cream treat that I was looking forward to. Anyway, we got to exploring and look what we came across -

Isn't that cool???? If you are not familiar with the TV show Haven, it's being filmed here along the South Shore :o) This is Nathan's truck with the police vehicles in behind -

Apparently Season Two is coming out soon but we didn't see any sign of filming.

I feel like I live in such an exciting place :o)

Just Because :o)

I seem to be MIA lately and I apologize. Things have been busy around the Pumpkin Patch! DH and I are trying to take advantage of ANY moment where it's not down pouring with rain. Sigh! Rain, rain, go away!!!! LOL!

I'm going to be away even longer because I'm expecting some visitors at any moment :o) Mom and Dad are coming today and will be here until Thursday. It looks like the weather is not going to cooperate so hopefully we can find some things to do.

That means that during this time I'll be away from the computer and therefore not answering many emails or reading Blogs. I'll have to catch up after they're gone. But never fear, I will be back to reading! I hate missing any of the action ;o) LOL!

For those of you wondering, Colleen (no Blog) was the recipient of my Springtime pillow that I did :o) I wanted to thank her for all the charts and floss that she sent me and it turned out that was the perfect gift. I'm still waiting for bunny to arrive at his/her destination. I sure he/she didn't get lost :o(

Since it's so blah out, I feel like doing a small giveaway! I have an extra copy of the January/February 2011 issue of Just Cross Stitch -

I didn't want to send this out to anyone just in case they already had a copy of it. So...if you would like the chance to win this, all you have to do is be a Pumpkin Stalker AND leave a message on this post only, along with a way for me to reach you if you are the winner :o) It's that simple! When Mom and Dad are gone on Thursday, I'll pick a name and announce the winner. Good luck everyone and have a great week!

Sixth Finish For 2011

Despite feeling like crap, I managed to complete another project. Here is Charmed Flake: Survivor/Hope by Hinzeit -

I just love her, even with the pink nose ;o) LOL! She's so cute! The colours are rich and warm and the charms just add a touch of sparkle -

The only thing I worry about is that the word 'Hope' doesn't show up that well. Maybe it's not supposed to?

I do have one idea on how I'm going to finish her but I'm not going to do anything until I can find another item first. How's that for suspense ;o)

At least I still have my sense of humour even though I feel like s-h-i-t :o( Actually, I think shit would probably feel better! It started about a week and a half ago with slight body pain. Then last week it gradually got worse but I was doing some cleaning so I attributed the pain to that.

But then on Thursday a migraine came on so suddenly and my body pain sky rocketed. It got so bad that I dug out an old prescription of Tylenol 3 with Codeine and called the doctor. I don't see him until Friday though :o( I was popping the Tylenol like candy and it was barely touching my agony. Thankfully the body pain has let up but the migraine has not.

I've been limiting my time on the computer and therefore I am behind on my Blog reading and emails. Please bear with me! Hopefully I'll be back to being a regular pumpkin soon ;o)

Sabrina Has Graduated!

Graduated Q-Snaps that is ;o) LOL! My girl is now framed in 11 x 17 inch Q-Snaps. She's heavy but it beats crushing any stitches or beads.

I'm SO excited because I 'finally' finished all the white in the section I've been working on! I even got to stitch part of the hem of her skirt so now she is being shown in full length -

What do you think? I'm still completely in love with her :o)

Once this middle section is done, there won't be much left but the last two small folds of the back of her dress. I can see the ending in sight and I couldn't be happier. Just knowing that there is a great possibility that she will be done this year is such a relief. I think this is the longest time I've ever spent on a project before.

I've started something new but I'm waiting until I get a little more done before I show you anything ;o) It's been a rough week health wise. With the sudden changes in temperature and weather, my body has taken an awful beating :o( I haven't had much sleep because of the pain and being on so many pain medications has screwed up my appetite. A vicious circle; one that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy let me tell you.

Tonight we 'spring' our clocks one hour ahead and therefore lose one hour of sleep but hey, we gain more daylight and that's good enough for me :o) Spring IS right around the corner and I can't wait to dust off the old camera and get back out there!

Have a great weekend everyone and thank you so much for all the wonderful comments on Chilly :o)

Third Finish For 2011

I'm so happy to share another completed project with you and this one is even finished-finished ;o) As you know, February is not my favourite month so in light of this, I decided I would 'try' and have a more positive attitude. Since we don't really celebrate Valentine's Day at our house (because every day is Valentine's Day here!), I could never recall ever stitching something for this so-called holiday

So last week I dug around in my stash and came up with a kit by Pine Mountain Designs. This is February Is Sweet -

Really, quite cute :o) Yes, I'm three days late (I have a good excuse) and yes, I did cheat because it came with the pre-finished pillow sham. LOL! But...I did make my own pillow insert! This in turn will work with any other similar sized Pine Mountain Designs kit I acquire down the road.

I did change one thing; instead of using three strands of floss, I used four. I find it covers better on 10 count fabric. I only ran out of one colour (DMC 963) but that was an easy fix. There are two things that I detest about these kits though...one, it's almost impossible to use Q-Snaps so I have to stitch in-hand. My joints 'do not' like this :o( Two, the 10 count Tula that they use; it seems to be too soft and stretchy and because I can't use my Q-Snaps, it takes extra effort to get my tension just right.

I officially had this project done on February 15 but due to an unexpected death in the family (my side this time), DH and I had to take off to NB again :o( D was one of Dad's cousins but I had known him since I was a little girl. I would visit their farm with my grandparents and play with the cows. I remember one time I was in the barn and stuck my head through a feed window. The cow on the other side decided that was a good time to do the same thing! The next thing I know, the head of the cow comes up, hitting me under the chin and sending my head up, cracking on the top of the window. There were stars in the sky and tears in my eyes let me tell you! LOL!

Despite the unfortunate circumstances, it was nice to see most of my relatives from that line of the family. But two funerals in two months are enough for me :o( See, February was half over and it all went splat! Like most of you said, at least it's a short month. Unfortunately not short enough for me! At least I wasn't the gentleman that had been to four funerals in two weeks and still had one left to go to. Oye!

Well, DH and I just got home from the Antarctic so I have a lot of catching up to do! It's SO nice to be back in God's country again ;o) Stayed tuned because I'll have updated pictures of Chilly and Sabrina coming up soon.

F@&%ing February

The month I hate and loathe the most is here :o(

It's hard to believe that eleven years ago tomorrow, I was in the doctor's office hearing the words breast cancer for the first time. What's even more eerie is not only is it the same 'date' but the same 'day' of the week. Approximately 12 hours from now I could relive the whole thing over again in real time. Weird!

To give myself credit though, I have gotten a lot better over the years. At first I used to be a mess about a month before and a month after. Then it was a few weeks before and a few weeks after. Slowly it transitioned to just a few days before. This year seems to be a little different though as I have been unsettled for most of January. I'm really hoping it will pass once I get over the hump. They say that things get easier with time and yes they do but the fear that accompanies cancer never fades :o(

At least I can say that I do have eleven years under my belt :o) And thanks to a wonderful bunch of ladies, to celebrate my tenth anniversary, you helped me raise almost $900 last year for the auction at the Attic Needlework! I was so pleased with the success of it that I have decided to continue our efforts again this year :o) If you would like to join in on the fun, please email me and I will send you an invitation to join our group. To check out our Blog, just scroll down the right side of my Blog and click on our new logo (thanks to Nia!).

Before I go I thought I would share with you a lovely picture that I took this morning -

Yes, I should have kept my big mouth shut! Our lush green paradise has been converted to a white desert and we are still digging out :oS I really shouldn't complain though since this is the first real snow we've had all winter. If my winter is going to consist of just a few months instead of four, then I'm happy with that ;o) LOL!

Second Finish For 2011

I went a little astray but I figured that since I already had all the threads out, I might as well complete the mate to Cuddle Up Snowmen 3 :o) Here is Cuddle Up Snowmen 2 by Stoney Creek -

I love his little jacket. He's just so cute :o) I'm still not sure about the green fringe on his scarf. It was supposed to be red but I thought there was too much red in him already and changed it out. DH said he liked it so I guess it will stay.

Here is a picture of the two together -

The pillows aren't the same colour. One is antique white and the other a light tan. They still go well together though and I'll keep them out on display for a little bit longer so that I can admire their cute little faces a bit more :o)

If you happen to look at my list of goals for 2011, you'll see that I considered this an ornament sized finish. When I categorize my patterns, I do so by stitch count and not by the size it will be when completed (32 count vs. 12 count, blah, blah, blah). These snowmen were 45 x 45 so as you can see, definitely ornament size when you look at it that way. Make sense?

A few days ago I started Christmas Rules by LK. I'm so excited about this project because Nia and I are doing it as a SAL :o) My plan is to have the header and first block done by the end of January and then a block a month until December, when it should be completed...

Today was my second low impact aerobics class and I seriously thought I was going to die! Once the class was over, K and I sat down and weren't in too much of a rush to leave. It was a good workout! I'm very pleased with the instructor though. Considering that I have Fibro, I am able to get out of bed the next day. Of course I have the typical soreness that accompanies exercise but it's not making me bed ridden. I also like the fact that I have K there to give me incentive :o) We ROCK! LOL!

Where Have I Been?

Oye! It's Thursday already! I have no idea where this week has gone.

Don't worry folks, I'm still among the living although I feel like crawling under the covers and dying a slow death :o( Thanks to DH (yes, I'm going to blame him), I caught the nasty cold that has been going around. Luckily it's not as bad but combine it with a visit from Aunt Flo; I'd say it's on the same level. I'm going to play it to the max anyway ;o)

Now that the holidays are over with, I'm trying to get my life back into some kind of 'normal' routine. Easier said than done! On Tuesday, I started my acupuncture again. I missed about three weeks and it wasn't hard to tell that my anxiety level was sky high. What a difference this makes in my life. Hopefully this will help me settle down so that I can get some stitching done. I should have a finish to show you soon!

Yesterday I started something new :o) Thanks to my friend K (yes, I'm going to blame her), I am now enrolled in a low impact aerobics class until the end of March!

It's only once a week (TG!) but I hope by the end of it, I'll have a little less around the middle and a little more on my backside. LOL! The instructor wanted to know what kind of exercise experience I had and this is what I explained to him -

Apparently lifting the television remote isn't considered exercise. Huh!

It is quite apparent though that I do NOT possess any form of coordination WHATSOEVER. If my legs are doing one thing, my arms can't do something else at the same time ;o) Talk about embarrassing! At least there was one other woman with the same problem so I didn't feel quite that left out.

We got hit with a snow storm last night but it didn't amount to much. Today it's like a spring day! The sun is out, the temperature is mild and what snow we got is already melting :o) Yay! I know not everyone got off as easy as we did. But as DH says...we live in the 'banana belt'. I love our little piece of paradise!

FIRST Finish For 2011

Woohoo! It took two car trips to NB to do it but I finally got the first completed project under my belt :o) Here is The Merry Skater by LHN -

I don't think I've EVER frogged so much on one piece before in my life! I'm going to attribute that to stitching in the car. Yeah, that's sounds good...

I made two small changes. First off I changed the color of her hair so that it matched mine a little better :o) Then I only used one strand of floss to backstitch the ribbon she is holding.

Now that I have done the Happy Skater and The Merry Skater, I'll have to make some time to finish them into ornaments. Yes, I'm a little late in doing this but at least they should be done and on my ornament tree this coming Christmas ;o)

So that means I have completed one of my 2011 goals and got one of my WIP's out of the way. Ahhhh, that feels good!

Next up will be Christmas Rules by LK. I want to have the heading and the first block done by the end of January. I'm doing this as a SAL with Nia. We've already decided that we're going to do the new Halloween Rules together in 2012 :o) I mean, how CUTE is this new series????

I want to thank everyone for their kind comments on our loss. The memorial service was very lovely and it was so nice to see friends that we haven't seen in quite awhile. DH and I left a white NB with snowflakes flying but arrived back home in NS under twilight skies with bare ground. Yes, we do live in a small oasis ;o) Until this morning that is -

It looks like the s-n-o-w followed us home >:o(

Squash & Hop

O-M-G! Have you seen the latest patterns by Blackbird Designs and Country Cottage Needleworks???? I'm in HEA-VEN! Be prepared to drool...

First off is Pumpkin Farm by Blackbird Designs -

How gorgeous is this???? Love the colors! Does this have Pumpkin written all over it or what? ;o) LOL!

Next up is Bunny Hop by CCN -

Cute, cute, CUTE! Gotta have, gotta have, GOTTA HAVE! Mine, mine, MINE!

Sigh, my stitching goals may be blown out of the water already ;o)

On a sad note, DH and I are leaving for NB tomorrow as a very dear friend of the family passed away :o( This gentleman was so kind and talented. He will surely be missed by all who knew him.

Because of this, I will be away from Blog reading. Have I mentioned how behind I am???? Eep! I will be bringing my computer with me but I'm not sure how much time I'll have. I may just be checking emails. Anyway, I apologize now for not getting around to everyone but I will eventually, I promise :o)

Where Has The Time Gone?

Has it really been a week since I last posted? Yikes! I have no idea where the time has gone. I've been running here, there and everywhere but it doesn't seem like anything is getting done. DH had four days off this past week but his busy season starts next Monday so he might be a bit scarce for awhile :o(

I will have some stitchy pictures to show you soon but I'm waiting until I have a good enough progress picture to show you ;o) Am I a tease or what? LOL!

There are going to be some changes here at the Pumpkin Patch over the next few weeks. Good changes, don't worry! :o) We have a new entertainment unit coming in on Monday for the upstairs television room! DH and I are SO excited because that means that we'll have easier access to our DVD collection and our books can 'finally' be unpacked after ten years.

That being said, DH had to finish painting the room and replacing the baseboard. When we bought the house, this was a third bedroom but we converted it to meet our needs and we had the closet taken out for more room...hence the finishing.

I had mentioned awhile back that we were thinking about getting a fireplace. Unfortunately that has been put 'on hold' but we are still planning on it at a later date. This is where things might start to get a little confusing ;o)

Taking into account the new entertainment unit and the 'possible' (future) fireplace, DH and I will be doing our own version of musical chairs! Since there will be no room for the sofa in the living room, that will be moved into our television room upstairs. With the sofa being gone, we decided to replace it with my nice recliner that is in my stitching room. Wait! I'm not going to end up chairless ;o)

On the weekend, DH and I tackled the nemesis couch that is already in our television room. For those that don't remember, it's got a recliner on one side and a chaise on the other -

Shortly after we bought it, I was having trouble on the chaise side because my butt slowly sunk into a hole >:o( We called the company and they had someone come out to fix it. It was good for awhile and then I slowly sank back into my hole and it was not comfortable. I contacted the company again and suggested we order a recliner for that side to replace the chaise. They couldn't guarantee that the fabric would match and suggested a partial (very small) refund. Not too long after that, the company went bums up. So what do you do with a piece of fairly new (and not cheap) furniture that you hate? You revamp it!

TA-DA!

This will be the new loveseat in my stitching room! I really think that DH and I have a future in furniture building ;o) What do you think? LOL!

The (Un)happy Skater

That's an understatement at the moment! LOL!

On Friday, my friend K and I went to the noon hour skate that they have at the local rink. I was excited because I haven't been on skates for 'years' and it was an opportunity for some girl time :o) Now I am not the most coordinated person on this planet but I was proud of the fact that I never fell...not even once! I wasn't the most graceful either but it definitely was a good workout. Unfortunately when I peeled my skates off, my socks were soaked with blood :o( If you gross out easily, don't go any further because here are my war wounds -

Ewwwwww! So now I have two good sized blisters on both heels and one huge blister on the arch of my right foot. Thankfully I haven't had to go out but when I do, I may have to wear my Crocs :o) LOL! No worries though, this hasn't deterred me from going again!

Sabrina has been making a few appearances but there are three other projects that I want to do before the end of the year. I've accepted the fact that she won't be finished and my goal will not be met but that's okay.

I've started one of these projects already. Here is Happy Skater by LHN -

The fabric in the picture will be the backing fabric when it's transformed into an ornament. I was SO happy to find something Christmassy that matched the Tumbleweed linen :o)

All I can say is that I hope it's going to be a good mail week! I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that it's been steadily raining since Thursday night. Yup, rain, rain, rain. After doing a little research, they're saying we've had five inches of rain since the evening of November 4. DH and I are seriously questioning this. Poor Duncan hasn't been able to get out much. This morning DH attempted to make him a rain coat -

ROFL! No, he didn't wear it during his walk this morning ;o)

A Nice Welcome Back

Maybe I should go away more often because when we got back from NB, my mailbox was stuffed with goodies! LOL!

I was the runner up in Denise's giveaway and feast your eyes on this -

Wow is right! My eyes bulged out of my head when I opened the box. Needless to say, it took me awhile to go through everything. I was definitely spoiled and I want to thank Denise again for her incredible generosity AND for letting me use her picture ;o)

There are a few more things that I will share but unfortunately we're having a rain storm at the moment and pictures are just not possible :o( Stay tuned though!

I still wasn't feeling myself when we got back home so off to the doctor I went. He seems to think that my IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) has flared up again :o( I've had IBS since about 1995. My worry is that it may now be Crone's due to the new symptoms that have developed over the years but I refuse to go for a colonoscopy. Does anyone have any suggestions or advice they can share with me? If you don't want to leave it in a comment, you can email me. Thanks!

Gingerbread Men, Mad Dog & Scared Rabbit

Gee, that's quite a title isn't it? You just KNOW that there's a story in there somewhere ;o)

Here is my progress on Gingerbread Tree by LHN -

My stitching mojo has gone out the window lately but I've been slowly plugging away. In reality, this should have been finished by now.

I did change some things with this pattern. Again, I went with the 32 count Light Mocha linen (because I had another cut piece prepared) but I also mixed up the colours a bit. Instead of DMC 712 (I thought this was a weird choice), I went with DMC B5200 and instead of DMC 937, I went with DMC 3363. I am contemplating changing the DMC 221 to DMC 3722 but I'm not 100% sure yet.

Btw, I want to thank everyone for their wonderful comments on my cube finish. It really made my day :o)

On Wednesday night I was woken up at 3:30 am by thunder and lighting. My first thought was that I had to get up and close the windows! As I ran out of the bedroom, I banged into Duncan out on the landing. He was in a state with his tongue almost hitting the floor. You see, he absolutely HATES thunder and lighthning. He was running around like a mad dog when I noticed that he had peed on the hardwood floor just inside the TV room and was tracking it all over the place :o(

Once I was able to corral him into the basement, I was hit with the lovely bouquet scent of s*$@. Yup, he had pooped on the dining room hardwood floor. This did NOT make me a very happy camper >:o( So guess what I did from 3:30-5:30 am? I scrubbed floors. Yes...I was on my hands and knees for two hours cleaning the worst areas. I figured I would deal with the rest in the morning. Well, basically later that day.

Now poor Popcorn was in her own terrible state. I can only imagine how she felt when this 55 pound mad dog came running up the stairs and up to her cage in the dark :o( She was scared stiff. Literally. I had to sit there and pet her until she calmed down enough that I could go back to bed. The poor thing. Needless to say, the three of us were quite tired the whole day.

So yesterday and today I've been hobbling along, stiffer than a wooden board. My Fibro has flared up and the pain is intense :o( Thankfully we had a break in the humidity and I was able to get out and take some photos, therefore stretching out some muscles. Now today looks like another stinker. I think I'll wait until a little later before I stick my nose out the door. It might do me some good to lay down and watch a well deserved movie ;o)

Back To Blogland!

The visit with my parents was finally over yesterday when I waved goodbye to them that morning :o( They arrived last Friday and it was non-stop since! I can definitely tell you one thing...I might only be 39 years old but my 65 year old mother can run me into the ground ;o) We had a wonderful visit. The last time we saw them was in November of last year so it had been quite awhile.

It was like my birthday all over again when Mom produced a cake she had made for DH and I (his birthday is in July). I thought we were all caked out but this cake was special (it had money hidden in it) so it was devoured over the weekend ;o)

My parents bought me some things while they were away in Florida and I was spoiled :o) I never thought I would be a scissor collector but I think it's like an addiction...once you've got it, the need just won't go away. I was lucky enough that Mom and Dad were able to pick up not one, but TWO pairs of Ginghers for me; Mia and Charlene :o) Now I have SEVEN pairs! Aren't they beautiful -

From the top, clockwise are Sarah, Criss, Ashley, Roberta, Charlene, Alyssa and Mia.

And you can't have scissors without a flower frog now can you? This is a new baby that I bought last year -

Mom and I collect Cornflower glassware and an antique friend of mine had found two of them. So I bought one for Mom and killed two birds with one stone (not literally) and got the other one for me. If my Gingher collection keeps growing, I'll have to get another one or steal Mom's back from her. LOL!

On Friday night it was so hot that we all piled in the car and went for fish and clams. It was my first clams of the year and it was yummy :oP

The next day we decided to drive to Shelburne for a tour. DH and I had never been there before so it was a new experience for us all. The weather was beautiful and HOT! At one point I just walked into the water to cool off. Oh, one of the many joys of owning Crocs :o) I won't overload this post with photos so look out for Monday's Photographic Memories for pictures of our adventures.

On Sunday we stayed close to home as it was a bit of a lazy day. We got down to Port Medway and enjoyed another gorgeous day. I do have some interesting photos to show you though -

Would you believe that was a school of fish in the water? Not photo fantastic but I was surprised that my camera would pick them up. I also experimented with a jellyfish that was swimming around the pier -

Unfortunately the water was that dirty :o(

As we were leaving, we stopped in at a flea market. I was able to find 'the' perfect jar for my sea glass and it was only two dollars! Isn't it pretty now -

Monday, Mom and I went to the beach in search of glass. I practically had to drag her home! LOL! Dad helped DH out in the garage and it looks great. Late in the afternoon we headed to Mahone Bay and walked through some of the shops there. Shortly after six, we arrived at the gallery that sells my photos as she was having a grand opening :o) I was impressed at how many people showed up while we were there and now, hopefully, the tourist will start coming and buy my pictures! Unfortunately the season doesn't look good but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

There are more things that I want to show you but you'll just have to wait ;o) I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I'm almost caught up on my emails but I do have some Blog reading to do so bare with me! This old gal is tired out. LOL!