I'm Always Up For A Challenge ;o)

I have to say that I'm quite impressed with myself. I've done quite well with my challenge considering it's only been a little over a month since it started. If you haven't seen it yet, check out my 40-4-40 Challenge :o)

I know I won't complete the whole list but I'm still going to try to get as close as I can to forty! One of my concerns will be reading forty books in twelve months. I've been keeping track of my reading list on Shelfari and it says that last year I read thirty books. It could be possible :o) I already have two books that I HIGHLY recommend you check out. The first is called The Forest Horses by Byrna Barclay. I think it would be awesome if they made a film from this novel. The second book is called The Truth Game by Janet Tanner. This one was hard to put down.

Tonight I ate my something new ;o) DH and I had ostrich wrapped in wild boar bacon. Oh-so-good!

Recently I completed another challenge and found a fireplace mantle! Here it is -

DH 'thinks' it's made of walnut but there are quite a few layers of paint to remove. LOL! It's from 1914 so it's a true antique and we're both really happy with it. I think we're going to re-paint it white to match the trim in the house. Normally we would stain such a lovely wood but unfortunately the walnut won't match our other wood furniture. Once the mantle is installed, the antique mirror will go on top of it. We had to take it down because it hung too low.

I'm really enjoying this challenge. I don't feel any pressure but it's fun having something to strive for :o)

Christmas Rules SAL Block Six

Yay! I'm not a month behind now :o) I finally got Block Six finished last night -

Sorry I didn't take a picture of the whole project to date. I'm too lazy to have to go iron it ;o)

I'm hoping my stitching mojo is back because I still have July's block to do and the next thing I'll know, it will be August. Plus Nia has been chomping at the bit because we are going to do another SAL together. This time we'll be stitching Nora Corbett's Bluebell :o) I'm really looking forward to that. More beads I know but at least not as many as Sabrina. LOL!

I want to thank everyone for their kind words regarding our loss :o( I've been having a hard time of it and that's part of my withdrawal from Blogging. I have started to catch up on my Blog reading and responding to emails so hopefully this means I'm getting back on track!

Btw, I see that I now have over 300 Stalkers!!!! WOW! Me thinks I will be gathering some stuff together for a giveaway soon ;o)

Goodbye Duncan

By now you are over Rainbow Bridge and reunited with Brie. Take care of each other.

1997-2011

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)

Tenth Finish For 2011

"Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
Zip-A-Dee-A
Wonderful feeling
Wonderful day"

Can you guess why? Can you? Huh? Can you?

Well...I DID IT! I DID IT! I DID IT!!!! My tenth finish for 2011 is....








SABRINA!!!!!

Isn't she a beauty? :o) (btw if you click on the link on my right sidebar you'll get a bigger picture) I can't tell you how happy I am. Of course when I shared this with DH, he didn't really catch the fever that I had. Maybe because all he could see was dollar signs going out the window. LOL!

When I completed her yesterday, my ticker said 16 months and two days. Now I know it didn't take me that long to stitch her because I didn't even touch her last summer. When I look back at my books I can see that in general it took me 64 days to finish the first half of the pattern and 89 days to finish the second. In total that equals 153 days and therefore approximately five months. Not bad :o)

I tried both my cameras to capture just how gorgeous she is in real life but I just couldn't. I had to adjust a few pictures to give you a better idea of her colour. The fabric was coming out grey but its mushroom and more of a tan.

Oh, I just love the look on her face. She looks so elegant!

And the roses...such a small amount of colour but it adds so much to this piece.

After all this work, how could I not mention the beads! The beads, the beads, the beads! LOL!

Would you believe that I was only about FIVE Petite Black Beads short???? If I didn't have to take away the ones that had imperfections, I would have gotten by with one package. The funny thing was though, it called for two packages of green beads and I only used one. Go figure!

The framing place called me about a week ago with the estimate costs on the frames that I picked out. Unfortunately I'm not going with the wider one because it was going to cost over $400 just for the frame itself! My second choice is a thinner version and will be around $120. Much better for the pocketbook ;o) I'm not sure if this is the exact same frame but it looks something like this -

So what's next, I bet you are wondering ;o) Well, I had better get a start on my Christmas Rules SAL because the end of the month is coming up soon!

I'm not sure if I'll tackle another large project this year but I think I have found my next victim...Lady Alexandra -

Isn't she stunning???? I just loved her the minute I saw her :o) Maybe I'm the victim here because look at all those BEADS, BEADS, BEADS! ROFL!

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!