Graveyard Fieldtrip

Sigh...I've been a bad Blogger again :oS It's been quite nice out the last few days so I took advantage and went to the beach in search of sea glass. Plus I was completely overwhelmed by all the birthday wishes on my last post!!!! Thank you! I promised you pictures of my birthday gifts but I'm going to hold off because Canada Post has been on strike and there are still a few things to come ;o) Don't worry though, I will share! LOL!

Since it's another drab day out, I thought that I would show you some pictures that I took last month. I went to the oldest graveyard in Liverpool and marvelled at the artwork on some of the tombstones. Some of these might look familiar to you -

I didn't realize that these symbols were actually used because I had only ever seen them on cross stitch patterns. I'm very curious as to story behind them. Does anyone know?

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!

Birthday Bash Sale!

First it was rain, rain, rain and we were chomping at the bit to get outside and do things. Now it's been sunny and warm and there's no time for Blogging! There's got to be a happy medium here somewhere :o) LOL!

I'm sure that some of you may have noticed that I will be turning the BIG 4-0 this coming weekend. Up until a few days ago, it wasn't bothering me. Now I'm not so sure ;o) At least I'm not having as tough a time as DH. I think he's going to go off the deep end! Hey, it's just a number right?

Since this is a milestone birthday, I thought that I would celebrate with you all :o) So...from Friday, June 10 until Sunday, June 12, you can save 40% STORE WIDE at my Etsy shop!!!! That's right...40%! This will be the only sale of its kind so I suggest you might want to start shopping for Christmas or maybe someone's birthday. Heck, for these prices, shop for yourself ;o)

When you check out just enter the coupon code JUNE40 and voila! The code won't be activated until tomorrow and will be deactivated at 12:01am, June 13.

If you're on Facebook and wouldn't mind, would you pass on this information? I'd greatly appreciate it :o)

Thanks everyone!

Can You Say YUM?

Last night our friends T and K came over for supper and as usual, we had a great time :o) Food AND company was wonderful! Let's just say...we didn't worry about our waistlines. LOL!

I thought I would share with you some of my favourite foods. I'll warn you now that this post will be graphic and I'm not responsible for any cravings or over eating that may result on your part if you proceed any further ;o)

So, there have been a few new things on the market lately. Haagen-Dazs ice cream has put out a single serving ice cream cup that you can buy at the two biggest grocery stores in Canada. There are five flavours (Strawberry, Vanilla Bean, Dulce De Leche, Chocolate Chocolate Chunk and Chocolate Peanut Butter) and each has its own spoon so you can eat it on the go! My FAVOURITE is Chocolate Peanut Butter -

Oh my, the ice cream is so creamy and the peanut butter comes in HUGE chunks :oP Needless to say I've had a few so far...

The second new item is Sea Salt & Black Pepper Flavoured Kettle Cooked Peanuts by President's Choice -

I like peanuts but I'm not a peanut 'fan'. That all changed when I took one taste of these! I warn you now that they are ADDICTIVE :o)

For our supper last night, DH and I did up pulled pork sandwiches. Why isn't there more pulled pork in our part of the world???? WHY? Since I'm such a generous person, I'm going to share my complex recipe with you. Pay close attention because you don't want to mess this up -

- one pork shoulder roast
- 1/4 cup orange marmalade
- 1 cup BBQ sauce

Are you still with me? LOL! We cook our pork in the slow cooker. It's put in the night before and set on the low setting. Once it's cooked through, take it out and start shredding it. Remove all the fat and juices. Put the shredded pork back in the slow cooker along with the other ingredients and keep on low or stay warm setting until you're ready to eat. You can separate the fat from the juice and add a bit of the juice if you want it moist. Yesterday we used Apple Butter BBQ sauce and it was delicious! Last month we made it when my parents were here and we used Diana's Maple BBQ sauce. What I love about the recipe is that you can use different BBQ sauces and therefore change it up :o)

For the finale DH made a Chocolate Cloud Cake -

OH-SO-GOOD! This is a flourless cake but rich in taste. We added whipped cream and fresh raspberries on top :oP

I hope I haven't overwhelmed you but I bet you're hungry now ;o) LOL!

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)

And The Winner Is...

Sorry I'm late in posting this! Random.org did its job and the winner of the Green Gables Sampler is -

Congratulations Denise :o)

I Did It! I Did It!

Working hard paid off because I met my goal; the mid section of Sabrina's dress got beaded before the end of the month :o) Talk about a Happy Dance! And let me tell you, there were a lot of beads! A LOT!

Did you want to see a progress picture? No? LOL! Just kidding ;o) Here she is -

I'm still SO in love with her. I know there have been comments about her quirky shoulder but she really is stunning in person. I was looking at frames the other day and found two that would be perfect for her. They are both ornate and have a black hue. One is quite wide though so cost may be a factor. But both have this tiny beaded detail around the inside of the frame and went so well with the tiny black beads in her dress :o)

Speaking of beads...it looks like I'm not going to have enough Petite black beads to finish the last section >:o(

I even bought the said amount of packages. Grrrrr! It's even questionable with the larger black beads. Sigh! So guess what that means...I'll have to make an order ;o)

So now my goal is to have Sabrina completely finished by the end of June. How doable is this? I only have two small folds left so I'd say it looks pretty promising :o) If she does get finished, there will be one heck of a Happy Dance!!!! LOL!

Btw, I'll announce the winner of the giveaway on Monday, May 30, so there is still time to enter. Just remember to leave a comment on THIS post only. Good luck!

Christmas Rules SAL Block Five

Bet you thought I was behind huh? Nope! I've had this block done since the fifteenth ;o)

Santa almost didn't get his cookie though because I had to frog the whole thing, along with the word 'Give' >:o( There was a lot of grumbling...

So here's the whole piece to date -

I'm still enjoying this SAL immensely! It's been so much fun and of course my partner makes it even more so ;o)

You're probably wondering why I didn't have my block done right at the start of the month. Well...I've been diligently working on Sabrina! That's right! May has been the month of Sabrina and I'm almost ready to reveal another progress picture so keep your eyes peeled :o)

Btw, there's still time to enter your name in the giveaway! Please see the post below for more details. Thanks everyone!

Jackpot!

I know I've been MIA again... Once my parents left, I tried to catch up with my Blog reading and emails but I just couldn't Blog myself. It's been wet and cold here so very depressing and hard to get excited about too much :o(

I did hit the jackpot last week though! My friend K and I went out and had a girl's day out :o) Much needed, let me tell you. Anyway, she wanted to go to this craft place because she'd never been there before. I knew the place well because I had scored some cross stitch magazines there last year so I was all for it.

Just look at what I brought home -

- one hardcover Leisure Arts Christmas book
- one foreign cross stitch magazine (looks like it's from France?)
- six Just Cross Stitch magazines
- one For The Love Of Cross Stitch magazine
- two Better Homes & Gardens cross stitch magazines
- one Crazy For Cross Stitch Magazine
- one The Cross Stitcher magazine

- seven Cross Country Stitching magazines
- four Cross Stitch & Country Crafts magazines
- two Stitcher's World magazines

- Stoney Creek pattern book
- Letter Snow! Letter Snow! Letter Snow! by Hillside Samplings
- Gift Of Peace by Lavender & Lace
- six patterns by Homespun Collectibles

And only for $8! Needless to say, I was one Happy Stitcher :o)

I also picked up a pattern called Green Gables Sampler by Charland Designs -

I thought it was a TIAG pattern when I picked it up. So my loss is your gain ;o) If you would like a chance at winning this chart, please leave a comment on THIS post only along with a means of getting a hold of you if you do win. That's it! Easy peasy :o)

Since I've been away for so long, I have lots to share so stay tuned for more...

Friday The 13th

Okay, Blogger has been down since yesterday and is now back up. I'm trying not to see that as a sigh of an unlucky day ;o) LOL!

Yesterday I entered all the names into Random.org and the lucky winner was -

Congratulations Lisa! Your magazine is all ready to go and will be on its way to you today :o)

Have a great weekend everyone!

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!

Ninth Finish For 2011

Here's another project that I thought would NEVER end! While I adore this pattern (and you'll see why in a minute), it seemed that I was spending all my time on it this month. This is Rabbit Egg by Elisa Tortonesi -

It was meant to be a monochromatic piece but I wanted to change things up and make it look more spring like :o) I stitched it on 32 count Bay Leaf Jobelan (LOVE this fabric) with DMC threads.

There was some frogging and re-charting of areas so that might account for my slow progress :oS I think the flowers are 'supposed' to be dandelions but I wanted them pink. There were also carrots in the middle but since I didn't want any orange in this piece, I took them out and just put more grass in for the bunnies. LOL!

I have a plan for how I'm going to finish this but it's going to remain secret until I can get going on it. I will give you a hint though...I'm going to use the same material that I used with Charmed Flake. How is that for a teaser?

Just when you think all is lost, up it pops from the depths from somewhere in the post office! Back in January, I had won this chart from Danielle -

It was mailed on January 29 but never arrived. After two months, I pretty much gave up hope. Then yesterday, I picked up the mail and there it was! Of course it had a big honkin' stamp on the envelope saying "Found In Supposedly Empty Equipment ". WTH? And we wonder why things get lost in the mail...

Thank you Danielle :o)

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Lots of rain = lots of flowers. Unfortunately none of these are mine ;o) LOL!

The magnolias are my favourite and I thought I would miss them because of this weather :o( Luckily I got a small break in between the downpours and was able to snap a few pictures. Not enough for my liking though. We're 'supposed' to have sun tomorrow and Tuesday but we'll see. DH has already mowed the lawn once and I think its grown four inches in the past couple of days. LOL!

A Stitcher's Dream

We had another shop close down :o( This one carried a few cross stitch supplies but not enough to consider it a LNS. During the last week it was open; I went in and inquired about a few things. One thing was the Mill Hill bead racks :o) You guessed it, I came home with two! I was so excited and just look at these pretties -

Yes, those are all my Mill Hill beads and treasures. LOL!

So far I only have one rack in use. I'm not sure if I'll use the other one or not. I just wish we had the money to fix up my craft room with all the cabinets that I've been dreaming of ;o)

Spring is finally popping up -

It's still quite cool though and now we're having a week of rain :o( Come on warmer weather!

Happy Easter!

Dear Easter Bunny,

You know that your arrival each year is my very favourite time of year. What could be better than a combination of bunnies and chocolate? Okay, well maybe peanut butter and chocolate but that's beside the point.

Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE getting chocolate at Easter but I'm thinking we need to step it up a notch and get a little more creative. As we already know, giving live bunnies at Easter is not a good thing so I've done some looking around and let me know what you think about these ideas...

I realize that chocolate is your typical Easter treat but what about a Giant Gummy Bunny -

Seven inches of gooey goodness! I just won't think about the calories ;o)

What about Rabbit Ears Salad Servers -

Unlike a lucky rabbit's foot, no bunnies were harmed in making these!

It seems that like real bunnies, dust bunnies multiply like...rabbits! I turn my head and the next thing I know, there are three or four scampering across the floor. I think it would be in everyone's interest if you gave me a Dust Bunny Duster -

I'm not saying I'll actually 'use' it but it's the thought that counts, right?

Speaking of multiplying like rabbits...it seems these Bunny Salt & Pepper Shakers really know how to shake things up -

Do the babies come out black and white or white and black?

Finally, I think that I need one of these -

What bunny lover wouldn't want this? I might have to kick DH out of the bed though and I'm not sure how well that will go over ;o)

So for next year, just keep these ideas in mind. Of course a case or two of ECEs would be nice as well :o)