The Inability To Navigate IS Inherited!

I went to the big city (Halifax) yesterday to see my ENT again. By 'myself' this time... DH went over the map with me the night before and it looked pretty straight forward. This is the road you'll be on and this is the exit you'll take. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Sure, okay, I can do this!

So, yesterday I'm driving along and I'm getting closer to where I'm supposed to turn off. What? Where's Exit 1? There was no Exit 1! That's fine, maybe I just have to drive a little further. Nope! The next thing I know, I'm driving towards Bedford. Crap! It's a good thing I left early.

Why do directions on paper always look so much easier? I always tease Mom that she could get lost in her backyard but it looks like I may have inherited this trait :oS In case you're wondering, yes I did manage to get to where I was supposed to go, after about a half dozen illegal U-Turns :oP

The appointment with the ENT was just routine, although he is not thrilled that I'm having so much pain in my jaw. I'm still waiting for the call to see the TMJ specialist. I am getting a new bite plate from my dentist but that will only help prolong the damage and not fix it. But first I need to stop being a weenie and get myself in there to have a few fillings done :o(

After my appointment, I got to spend a little time shopping :o) I picked up a really cute beach linen dress by Columbia but do you think that I could find a picture online to show you? Argh! What I can show you though is my new pair of pink ribbon scissors -

While I was at Fabricville picking up our new curtains (yay!), I spotted these at the cash. They're by Triumph and with my discount; I paid around $4 for them. Not an expensive scissor but one I can add to my collection :o)

So the big question remains...did I find my way home? LOL!

Landscaping Setbacks

Progress on the Beach Cottage continues, although it was almost at a snail's pace until just a couple of days ago. Due to inclement weather, the landscaping had to be put on hold for almost a week. Rain seems to be the flavour of the summer around here, with only a handful of really warm days thrown in.

The trees now have their leaves and the lawn has been put in -

I can sit on the front steps and the beach is just within reach :o) I'll have to start planting the flowers soon if I'm going to enjoy them at all this season. I guess I'll have to see what the garden centers have left. LOL!

Thank you for all the lovely comments on the house pictures. I truly do appreciate them and I'm happy that you've taken the time to stop by. If you have a minute, click on my fish pond and feed the fish :o)

Open House Part 4

The tour continues! I gave you a peek of the kitchen in Part 1 and now it's clean enough that I can share the rest of it with you ;o)

First up is the cooking area -

This is DH's domain. We invested in a propane/gas stove and so far, I haven't blown up the house ;o) But then again, I don't do a lot of the cooking. LOL!

If you go to the left of the picture, that will take you to the half bathroom and my stitching room :o) To the right of the picture, is the dining room and patio doors that lead out to the deck.

Here is the clean up area -

See those cacti? DH and I grew them from seeds when we first met. He says when they die, then so does our marriage. I've been trying to kill those things for years now but they're quite resilient! I guess that says something ;o)

Now that we have our new furniture, I can show you those rooms as well. They're not complete by any means so they're a bit sparse.

Take a view of our new living room -

I LOVE this furniture! Looks like leather doesn't it? It's not :o) They call it a 'leather-like' fabric.

We'll need to add some color to this room -

So far I've added The Quiltmaker. Hey, it's a start!

Finally we have our new 'media' room -

DH and I took the third bedroom, removed the closet, and now it's our new room where we veg after a long day :o)

Here is my side of the sofa -

This is THE perfect sofa. DH has a recliner on his side and I have a chaise on mine. It's a win-win situation :o) If you're wondering what that piece of wood is that's up in the air, it's actually the arm of a lamp. I found this table at an antique store in town. DH just needs to re-wire it and I'm good to go. I even bought an Ott-Lite bulb for it so my original Ott-Lite can stay in my stitching room.

Ahhhhh...notice that I have not put up pictures of my stitching room yet. I guess you're just going to have to wait around and see ;o)

A Super Giveaway!

Check out Dip Diddly Designs for her first giveaway. She's got some lovely things there so please take a spin over and have a visit :o)

Meet Willy!

What can I say...my needle felting class was a blast!!!! I wish I had known how easy and fun this was long before now. LOL!

The class was held in an old mill that was used to process wool. The grounds were lovely, with a pond full of ducks and a waterfall gliding over huge boulders. Inside the mill, there were many of the old machines that were used to mill the wool brought in by the shepherds.

There were at least seventeen ladies in attendance and as usual, there was no one there around my age. What else is new? LOL! I came prepared with my two inch upholstery foam and was then given a needle that was four inches in length! We were then informed that there were plenty of band aids available if need be :oS

Needle felting a three dimensional object is pretty basic when you break it down. You create each part separately and then join them together. Wool is bunched together and then jabbed with a needle, condensing it while you are trying to form your piece. The main thing is not to accidentally jab your fingers in the process. I did a few times and it hurts! Luckily, my jabs didn't break the skin.

I knew that we were going to be creating an animal but I didn't know it was going to be a sheep until I got to class. So everyone, I want you to meet Willy -

Willy is made from 100% wool from Nova Scotia :o) His curly locks are real ones sheered from a sheep.

Handsome, isn't he? ;o) I think now that I know what I'm doing, I might actually be able to buy this kit, or maybe this one :o)

If you have been waiting for my sale's list to go up, I apologize that it's been late but it IS up now! Just head over to the Market. There is still a bit of fabric to go up and unfortunately it won't be until later in the week. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

The Beach Cottage

I've really been holding out on you all because I haven't told you about the latest construction project that has been going on ;o) Over the past few days, the workers finally finished up our new beach cottage -

What do you think? I love the blue door. Very fitting for the decor. Speaking of decor, the inside is being done as we speak. We've gone with whitewash boards throughout the back part of the cottage that looks onto the ocean. It will be accented with blues and reds. The floors are all done in stone, with in-floor heating, that will give some warmth to the place. There will be plenty of comfy chairs and sofas to sit and stitch on ;o)

As you can see, the landscaping is being worked on now. I didn't realize that a tree trunk could be planted and the leaves added later on. LOL!

Some of you asked what color I was using to stitch The Bramble & The Bush. I chose Shortcake by Threadworx. If you look on their site, the sample picture does not show enough green. Don't worry; I will keep trudging on with that piece. I just needed a bit of a break.

Guess what I'm doing on Saturday???? I'm taking a needle felting class :o) I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it advertised in the paper! And we'll be making animals too. I'm so excited! Maybe this is my chance to meet other stitchers. Maybe.

One last thing before I go, I've been going through my stash and will have quite a bit of stuff going up on my Market Blog in the next day or so. There will be a lot of fabric, mostly Aida (14-22 count), some magazines, patterns and a beautiful black trinket box. So keep your eyes peeled :o)

Contest At Violarium!

You don't want to miss out on this -

Check out Violarium's Blog on how to enter this fabulous contest :o)

Yes, This IS A Cross Stitch Blog Too!

Oye! I thought that I had better post a picture of some cross stitch soon for fear you all might think that I had completely given up on the hobby ;o) HA! No worries there! Although I have to admit that I have not had as much time as I would have liked lately :o(

You probably don't remember, because this was 'awhile' back, but I mentioned that I had a wee bit of startitis. What could possibly have brought this on you ask? Well, I had 'just' gotten my June issue of The Gift Of Stitching when I feel madly in love. On the cover was a new piece by Ink Circles called The Bramble & The Bush. I immediately knew what I was going to use to stitch it with and here is the result so far -

I know, I know, I haven't gotten very far and for some reason this project is going much slower than I would have hoped. Maybe if I could stay up past 8pm, I'd have better results ;o)

I might have a problem though. Because of my quick jump to start this piece, I think I may end up short on fibers at the end :oS Perhaps if I were wise, I'd order another skein now and avoid any panic towards the end, seeing that the end will probably be in another five years. I DID say if I WERE wise ;o)

If anyone is keeping track, yes this is the second Ink Circles piece that I have on the go. Bad, bad, bad, bad! What is it with me and big projects???? Maybe now that I have my new stitching chair, things will go much faster. Ahhhh...you'll just have to wait and see ;o)

Open House Part 3

Today I'm going to share with you another favourite room in my house :o) This is our dining room -

Not only do I love the furniture but I also love the fact that DH and I can actually sit down at a table and have a meal. For years we've been eating suppers in front of the television so this is a wonderful change. We also have a beautiful view of our backyard through the patio doors.

My shamrock plant seems to love this room as well -

We've also hung some important pieces on the wall. In this picture you can see a print that we picked up in Bar Harbour, Maine. It's called The Wedding Night and it's by Russel Dalessio. You should check out his work. We visit his studio every time we visit the island.

The other piece on the wall is by yours truly -

It's a picture I took down here. I enlarged it and combined it with a frame that my in-laws gave me. Now it looks like you're looking out a window :o)

The china cabinet, or what they call a server, was an excellent purchase. We bought sight unseen and luckily it matched out dining room set perfectly! It's got loads of storage and now I can see all my pretty crystal pieces :o)

Here's one last look -

I hope you enjoyed another open house. Our new furniture arrived today so as soon as I get those rooms looking respectable, I'll bring you on another tour :o)

Before I sign off I want to share with you another typical Cathey adventure of 'What Not To Do'. DH was working last night so it was my job to take the dogs out to do their final business before I went to bed. So, at 11pm, I took them out the side door. Duncan did his job right away so I let him back in the house. Brie, as usual, was taking her sweet old time.

Somehow and for some reason, I ended up closing the door. What's so wrong with that you might wonder? Well, our doors lock automatically 'unless' you unlock them yourself. Yup, that's right; I locked myself OUT of the house IN my pyjamas with one dog in the house and the other outside with me!

I looked in the window and pleaded with Duncan to open the door. His response? He walked downstairs to bed. Great! And then I thought, I have a cell phone...I'll call DH! Said cell phone was 'inside' the house. Then I thought, I'll just climb in the car and wait for DH to get home (it was only going to be another couple of hours). That's not possible when your keys are 'inside' the house.

Accepting defeat, I walked over to our next door neighbours' place, with much hesitation mind you because these are people I hardly know. Imagine their surprise when I knock on their door and there I am in my pyjamas, holding a wiener dog. You can stop laughing now!

So, always make sure you have an extra key handy for such instances ;o) I asked DH how long he thought it would take for this news to get around the neighbourhood and his response - "It already has."

Open House Part 2

See, I told you that I'd be back ;o) I wasn't going to make you hang there too long. LOL! Today, you'll be touring the bedrooms.

First off is the master bedroom -

Yes, that is Taz in the window. LOL! We don't have curtains yet and he happened to be the first thing I grabbed to put up. The neighbours haven't said anything so I guess he stays :o)

For the first time since we've been together, we have actual bedside tables -

And they're solid wood! We were so pleased to find them. Now we just have to find some lamps...

DH installed the fan light that you see -

I insist on having one in the bedroom for those hot nights. Hot 'weather wise' people!!!! Get your mind out of the gutter ;o)

Next is the guest bedroom -

Mom made the quilt on the end of the bed and she also made the pink ribbon one in the back corner :o)

Pictures are starting to be put up on the walls -

Do you see who's on this wall -

Stargazer has emerged from her packing and she's okay :o) I have put Angel of Grace in my craft room and I'm still debating where to put The Quiltmaker. I just got word this morning that they are going to deliver our furniture on Wednesday! About time >:o(

So keep your eyes open for more open houses. I'm past the halfway point in my Blog reading so if I haven't been to your Blog yet, I will be! I'm hoping with the newly downloaded Google Chrome, I'll be better able to see some of your Blogs. What's up with IE anyway????

Open House

Since there are certain people, ah-hum...namely Nancy, that cannot wait to see pictures of our new house, I will allow a few sneak peeks ;o)

Unfortunately, the furniture we ordered is still NOT here and our curtains won't be ready until mid-July, but there are a few areas that I can open up to you and maybe entice you to come back. LOL!

This is part of my kitchen -

I absolutely love our new fridge. Having the freezer on the bottom really makes a big difference. See the garbage can? That is DH's baby. He searched high and low for that thing and all because it doesn't slam shut. Just don't ask how much it cost...

Luckily, we did find some blinds that we liked for the two big windows on the side -

Note: take the time to check out the price of the item you are purchasing BEFORE you purchase it ;o)

Now I take you to the main bathroom -

This is one of my favourite rooms in the house. I never would have picked out grey for a bathroom but I love it, I really do. I find it quite striking. My plan is to hang some of my black and white photographs in there.

This really is a good size bathroom, considering the size of our house. There's a huge countertop with a beautiful vessel sink. The jars on the left are filled with shells I have gathered since we've been down here :o)

In this picture, you can see the shower curtain that I ironed (LOL!) and the upstairs hallway. We have the same porcelain tiles in the bathroom as we do in the kitchen. The flooring upstairs is all original and gives the rooms such character.

So, that's the end of our tour for now. Don't worry; I'll be back with more pictures! I'm just giving you a little taste so you will come back. I would like to see the number of followers increase. I'm wondering if I scared some of them off ;o)

Thank you for all your comments. I love reading each and every one :o) I am back to reading Blogs so please know, I will be visiting your Blog soon and leaving my comments!

Overdue Thank Yous

Where have I been? LOL! Well, still here on earth although stretched well beyond my means. So much so that I came down with another bout of vertigo :o( At least, when I get the chance, I will have a lot of stuff to show and write about ;o)

The first thing on the list though is some much overdue thank yous! I have been the very lucky recipient of some lovely gifts from some very wonderful friends and they should be acknowledged :o)

Karen never fails to send the neatest breast cancer items to me -

My pin collection has really grown thanks to her ;o) Do you see that gorgeous fob? Karen made it with some of her hand blown glass beads!!!! I think it looks quite stunning on my Ginghers :o) Oups! I just realized there is one thing missing from the picture! Karen sent Brie a little squeaky toy in the shape of a piece of cake. Brie absolutely LOVES this toy and the squeaker still works!!!! That is totally amazing since she can kill a squeaker in five seconds flat. LOL!

The next package to arrive was from Rachael -

I had won her contest for the Shepherd's Bush charts but was totally surprised to see a little something else in the envelope :o) That lovely pin keep was made by Rachael herself and she is one beautiful stitcher when it comes to Hardanger. She is one talented gal :o)

Last, but not least, was this huge surprise from Cindy -

I couldn't believe it when Cindy told me she made the Ort Pouch herself!!!! You should see this in person...its perfect! I'm not kidding. I told her she should sell them. I LOVE the color combination and the little froggies make me chuckle. She even made a fob (seen here on my new pair of Sarah Ginghers) with a frog charm at the end (comes with matching counting pin). LOL! I finally got my Garden Stars by Ink Circles :o) This multi-talented lady even made the dishcloth that matches my kitchen perfectly!

What can I say? I have the most wonderful, talented, caring friends around me and a gal can't be thankful enough for this. I truly appreciate these wonderful gifts and there are huge thank yous going out to you all :o)

A Year Older & A Day Late

I just finished ironing my shower curtain. Sounds funny, doesn't it? Well, I've been staring at that thing for the past week now and I just couldn't stand the wrinkles anymore! Wrinkles be gone! LOL!

Whew! It's been B-U-S-Y here and no wonder my poor Blog has been so neglected. Not to mention my emails and my Blog reading :o( I really do apologize. Please bear with me; I will be back at some point, although I'm not sure when right now. I have my parents coming to visit next weekend and it looks like my in-laws might be here the first part of July. So with moving in, unpacking, more cleaning and organizing, plus decorating, I've been stretching myself quite thin. The odd thing is, I've been enjoying it :o)

It's been a week today that we've been officially living in the new house! It really does feel like home and I love watching it grow around us with all of our special touches that we've been putting in. The flooring WAS finally finished before we moved in. It was close but it got done. Our dining room furniture was delivered and I'm just enamoured with it :o) I have all of these beautiful glass pieces in my china cabinet and they look so pretty.

Speaking of loving something...I am SO IN LOVE with my new washer and dryer!!!! They are awesome! We bought new front loading ones and I used them for the first time yesterday. Washing is as easy as 1-2-3 and the clothes come out almost dried. And talk about QUIET! Oh, I love, love, love them! Who would have thought that I would enjoy washing clothes so much ;o)

We're still waiting on our other furniture to be delivered but that's okay. I'm in a cleaning frenzy and want the living room done before they arrive. My poor stitching room has been sorely neglected and will probably be the last room to get done :o( I do have my new desk in there, plus my stash, but I need a good size storage unit and I'm waiting on my new recliner :o)

I also have to apologize that the birthday girl has been late with her post. I want to thank those that sent emails, comments, e-cards and real birthday cards :o) I will get around to thanking everyone personally. My big day was just a day. I was a little blue this year because it was the first time away from family and friends. I didn't have Mom to bake me a cake but DH came through and brought me home a little chocolate one just for me (I did share it with him btw).

It's a good thing for the stash cash that I received from some very special people :o) When I'm blue, the best thing is to shop!!!! LOL! And shop I will but I want to wait until after Market to see all the new stuff that's coming out.

I had better end this post before it gets any longer. I promise I will take pictures as soon as the house is deemed clean enough ;o) I've also got some new projects on the go and I guess I'll have to share those as well. I kinda got a small case of startitis about a week ago :oS

Doggy Style!

It never ceases to amaze me the healing powers that animals hold. Whether they realize that they are a comfort or a joy to their owners, I don't know. If they don't, then their antics must be pretty coincidental.

Today, when I got home from getting groceries, it was so nice out that I told Duncan and Brie that we'd go down to the beach for a bit. Both of them LOVE the beach, especially Brie because it's one terrain that she can still tear back and forth on. Even though her front end goes one way and her ass end another, she can still run circles around us :o)

It must be the right time of year because for the past week there have been loads of gulls and cormorants out in the water fishing. When we got down to the beach, there were a flock of gulls off to the right. The tide was coming in but it's nice and shallow where we are so I told Duncan to go get them. One thing you have to know about Duncan...he doesn't 'get' anything.

I was hopeful at first though because he started running towards them! All of a sudden he stops right in the middle of the beautiful surf and...dumps a load. Yup, he decides he's going to crap far enough out in the water that I can't scoop the poop :oS It would have been a million dollar shot but guess what? That's right, no camera. HA!

So, we're on our way back when I see Duncan sniffing around one of the huge boulders. He's got his nose way up in the air and I know he's onto something. The next thing I know, he's trying to jump up the boulder that's four times his height! Nope, not even close to successful. He's got his perturbed look but he's still fascinated with the area.

Of course he has hooked my interest by this point and I join in on the search. We both start climbing up the smaller boulders covered in seaweed. The flies should have been my first clue. They should have but I ignored them... Just as I saw it, Duncan was on it...a nice gooey fish head :oP Ewwwww! Luckily I managed to get him down before he snatched it up.

I don't know if I shared this with you before or not but when Duncan was staying with my in-laws over the winter, he came home with five different deer legs over that period of time. FIVE! Don't worry, the deer were already dead but it seems that Duncan has quite a talent for sniffing out dead things. DH and I are wondering if he should be a cadaver dog as grotesque as that may be. But Duncan loves doing it and he's so proud when he finds something. He's like a cat that brings home a dead mouse to his master only we have a dog that brings home deer legs.

That's our boy though; full of personality, never boring and seems to know when I need a good laugh ;o)

Flower Power

Sweet, sweet Monday. The beginning of a new week. Actually, the beginning of a new month considering it's June 1! Unfortunately I feel like I'm still stuck in last week. My cold has gone from a sore throat to my left nostril, to my right nostril and then down into my chest where it remains, sucking the life out of me. Add to misery the fact that Aunt Flo came for a visit and there you have the ultimate torture.

DH worked all weekend and I went from the bed to the couch, from the couch to the bed, from the bed to the couch...well, you get the idea. I'm over medicated with Cold FX, Zinc tablets, PMS pills and Robitussin. Talk about a cocktail! I did manage to get out yesterday and go over to the new house but my body protested way too much after I put one of the laundry baskets together so it was back to bed for me.

Fingers crossed that the flooring comes in today. If that's the case, hopefully they will be done installing it by tomorrow and then I can get back on track. I don't appreciate it when things interfere with my plans. When body and mind don't listen to each other, this is the result. I just wish they'd take their war somewhere else!

Since I'm still basking in this miserable state, I figured I would use the power of flowers to add some cheer to this Monday and see if that changes anything ;o)

What do you think?

Speaking of Flower Power, I have a sadistic desire to stitch this pattern by The Crossed Wing Collection. Maybe that's just the cocktail talking, I don't know, but if anyone has this pattern for sale or trade, plmk. You can find my email address through my profile :o)