So Hot!

We are starting to get our summer weather so temps. are in the 30C area. All Roscoe, Clawdeen and Dunphy want to do is sleep. Of course being dogs that's just part of doing dog stuff.

We all went to the big soccer game last night where a whopping four kids (all girls) showed up, so being the good looking gentleman the other coach was, he lent us his ringer, who just happened to have a brother on the same team who was almost as good. So, by doing that and all kids not taking any breaks the teams would have been even in size and scoring. However, like most six year olds, the mind wanders the heat makes them oh so hot and that cooler filled with freezies is so inviting. What's a six year old going to do? Take a long break every few minutes and pig out on freezies. Yeah!

Granddaughter has an "extra" cousin who happens to be five. Could the coach talk him into playing???? Not on your life. He can dance and sing in front of anyone, but put him on a field with a bunch of girls and you get one shy guy. Poor Callum all he heard was go get in there all evening. Bet he won't come watch any time soon.

By "extra" cousin - the story goes as such. My son at the ripe old age of 20 had a girlfriend who was 17 and she got pregnant. Of course with the two of them being so young, it didn't last. Now both are married or have a significant other and things go pretty smoothly between the two. She and her lovely man Jack have a son and now another one due in November. Long story short it is easier if little brother thinks the kids are his cousins, I am grandma Jen and My older kids are his aunts and uncle. It works quite well. Would it have worked a few years ago? Probably not as this grandma was too busy worrying about what others would think than just going with the flow. I would highly recommend to anyone out there in the same situation, let go, and just let things take the natural course (whatever that may be). This world has changed so much, and there are so many people out there who don't have a family, let alone a "regular" family that I feel it is very important to live by the old adage that it takes a village to raise a child. To that end, I will gladly accept any child who wants me to be their grandma with open arms, a loving heart, a gentle spirit and full of God's love for the child. It is so neat having a blended family. I can so see how God uses each and every one of us in these children's lives.

I am now off for my weekend. I only work five hours a day, four days a week. Yes, I am blessed. Now I need to plan what to do with those precious days off. I have so many things I want to do, so many things I should do and other things that are just there in my mind. Will be really interesting to see what this wonderful weekend will bring. For starters, I will be looking after my smallest grandson in the morning tomorrow. I think he will be very happy to have grandmom all to himself to play with. I see lots of outside time, digging in the dirt/sand and probably a bit of sprinkler time. Then, my daughter and I are going to look at more travel trailers. Yes, for the millionth time I have changed my mind. No I am not getting a cottage - too much work, or a motor home - gas too expensive, so now have decided to get just something small that we can all pull with our vehicles. Glad that's decided finally.

Creativity has been slow going. I have the carpal tunnel down to a slow roar, but the nerve damage in my hand is very slow to get better. So, just doing a bit here and there. I did decide on fabric for the border of my log cabin heart quilt. Now just to get it done.

My niece-in-law has just started a blog about her journey to lose weight. It is a good read and I think Maren will come up with some unique ideas/takes on on her journey. Please visit her at http://skinnygirlbreakout.blogspot.ca  The name of her blog is The Journey Begins.

Any way have a great weekend.

Blessings

Jean

It's fair season and I'm goin' travelling

Glenn and I in past years went almost every weekend to a different fair, rodeo etc. within a days drive of our home. We had a blast and saw stuff we ain't never seen before LOL. Today was the start of the Oakbank fair, so over I trotted to see the parade. It lasted about 45 minutes and was spectacular. In our neck of the woods, parade participants .......

throw candy at us to see if a) we are awake, b) see if we are watching and c) see if we can catch. If we successfully catch, then you go to the next step which is baseball....that starts in about an hour and guess who is gonna be there - yup me!

Some pics from our local yocals. One of the Sunova floats, actually the other one was a bus. The lady with her hand in the bucket is about to throw a handful of candy.

 Wouldn't be horse country without horses. I use the term horse country loosely. It isn't like Kentucky, and it definitely is like good old Alberta, but fo us this is as good as it gets.

The next pic is of one local realestate team----they sure don't look to me like they want to be in this parade.

This picture is of  a gentleman from the Dinner Theatre. They do one show a month from October until April. Looks interesting, will have to attend one.

Our local high school band. We don't have a marching band or all the other kind of bands, just plain old band. They played well though.

No parade is complete without vintage cars.

RM of Springfield's new toy. Can hardly wait to see what this baby can do to our roads!

Some of our local heros a.k.a. firefighters. They have really been put to the test this spring, but have come out shining. Gotta love those fireguys and gals.

Well, that in a nutshell was the parade. Now, I am off to a lacemaking day, then on to baseball and see what else the fair has to offer.Have a safe day and enjoy the afternoon - remember to take time for yourself.

Blessings

Jean

Pain Pain Go Away, Don't Come Back Another Day

For the past 15 to 20 years, I have had trouble with carpel tunnel in both wrists. I have been able to manage it quite well by stopping activities that aggravate it, icing and exercising the wrists. Now, in the past few months, it has worsened. I believe it is because I do not generally have anyone to help me and so am having to do lots of things I did not have to in the past. On Wednesday, I will be going to the hospital for nerve testing and then hopefully at some near date in the future ,will be set up with a surgeon and have this issue taken care of. This latest bout has been aggravated by the fact that the pinkie and ring finger as well has half my hand are numb all the time. This is not a symptom of carpel tunnel. My neck and shoulder have also been bugging me. I asked around and looked into things here and there. The consensus is a nerve is trapped and it is a nerve that relates to the feeling in my hand. This can take up to eight weeks or so to heal. In the meantime, I am icing like crazy and have given up almost all kinds of activity except walking and reading. I am also hoping that this does not affect the nerve testing for the carpel tunnel. Tomorrow, I go see the doctor regarding the bone scan on my foot and should find out if it was broken for sure. If not, I hope he has some other ideas as to why my toes hurt like crazy and the ligament on the side of my foot doesn't heal up. Boy, I sound like a basket case - but I am very thankful that these are all things I can live with and am trying to learn not to whine so much. I try to think of others who I may or may not know that have so much more pain to live with. We are all blessed immeasurably no matter what pain we go through - whether it is physical pain, mental pain, relationship pain, God is with us through it all and he desires for us to be set free. He has desires for us.That may mean a healing, or an attitude adjustment or it may mean he desires us to learn something.What we learn through experiences, God uses by giving opportunity to understand and help others.  The pastor this morning said "This is our training ground for what is to come". Some of what is to come is here on earth, but all will be revealed in heaven.  We tend to think our reward is IN heaven, but our reward IS heaven. Think of how glorious that will be - heaven will be ours.  We won't leave this world till we pass all God's tests for us. Isn't that great? How much does our heavenly father love us to keep desiring us to learn and keep on learning until he has perfected us. He lovingly does not give up on us. We already are amazing in his sight and just think what we will be when he is finished with us. It is so hard for me to comprehend something so magnificent as that! This pastor mentioned that one of his desires would be to see God's "test sheet" for him, so he could see what all he has "passed" (learned) and what all God still has in store for him. After 50 years of being a Christian, he figures he still has a fair way to go. I am not sure if I would want to see me test paper. I too have an awful long way to go. It was a powerful sermon today - very meat and potatoes, down to earth. I know I will be reviewing my notes more than once.

Along the stitchy side of me, I have no update for the UFO over at Sue's blog at http://www.blackberrycreek.typepad.com . As I take this time to deal with pain, to relax and to plan, I will be planning the border on the log cabin quilt, looking through my UFOs to see what is next, as well as the continued planning of my sewing area. Oh, yes I will also be planning what to make for my new grandson to be (October).

Have a great week you all!

Blessings
Jean

Is it spring or winter?

After having +30C in March we are now hovering anywhere between +5C and +18C. Guess it really is not too bad, but as all the animals, trees and plants think it is mid to late May, why oh why can't we humans get adjusted this year. I was watching The Weather Network yesterday and Chris St. Clair had an interesting take on things. He says that with it being so warm in March, our psychological side cannot cope with the frequent changes. Wonder if that is true. However, for the most part, the geese have left for the Northern part of the province. That is generally a sign that the weather is going to get hot. Thankfully the Robins haven't left yet. I love their singing and talking early in the morning before the sun comes up. As of yet we haven't had too many nights where we can leave the window open. When I lived in Winnipeg, we had a bird in the neighbourhood that snored. I jokingly called him the snoring bird and always had a good chuckle when I heard him. He would start about 2:00 a.m. and go till about 4:00 a.m. Well, low and behold, one of my "birder" friends told me that is actually what he is. So who knew. Shows what kind of humour God has.

Thank you for your comments on the log cabin quilt. I have decided I will take a trek over to the quilt store (some 30 miles away) and see what she has in stock. If not, I will be hitting some of the on-line shops to see what they have. I have a confession regarding that quilt. There are two blocks where for the life of me I could not sew straight. A couple of the strips are a bit narrower than the rest. But, the block still squared up okay. This error has bothered me for a couple of years - hence that is why it is not finished. But as of this weekend and having looked at it from all angles, I have decided that it will stay the way it is. This will probably never go to a show and tell and it won't be entered into any quilt shows. I am not that confident of my sewing skills to ever do that.

Had some of the kids and grands here today for lunch after Church. I actually got up at 4:30 this morning. Couldn't sleep and then thought I should make some meals ahead for the kids. She Who Must Be Obeyed (dd), is working an extra shift this week. Miss Dakocanut (dgd) has two soccer games and because she is only 6 they play at 6:00 p.m. and have to be at the field at 5:45. The Golfer does not get home till 5:00 and Mrs. Prego golfer is not feeling very good with the new little mister golfer. Anyway, I made Manicotti filled with a cheese mixture, lasagna rolls, healthy chicken strips, stuffing, a lovely spinach, strawberry, broccoli, avocado and macadamia nut salad, and for dessert I made what I originally thought would be a salad. It has rice, fruit cocktail, cool whip and for variety I put in little coloured marshmallows. So they all ate on the feast here, then they took home the leftovers and will add it to whatever they have. Glad I could help, but sure needed a nap after they all left. The two littles were wild today - is it a full moon perhaps?

I spent the weekend knitting. I worked on the middle little golfer's sweater, and on a scarf.

I need to finish the one front panel and the two sleeves. I am hoping to have that done this week. Two soccer games is good for knitting adventures.

The scarf uses Alpaca Fingering weight and has eight colours in it. The scarf has 68 rows and it is all done in garter stitch. Easy peasy!

Right now it is as my English side use to say - blowing a hoolie out there and I better go see what needs to be tied down. With the sounds of things someone in Toto land might end up with my new porch set. I would not be happy though I am sure someone in Kansas would be. LOL

Have a great start to the week!

Blessings
Jean

A UFO update.....Finally

Over the winter I got into a funk. I would sit there in my stiching chair and think about the UFOs I should be working on. That's the crux - all I did was sit and think. My sister Marilyn thinks that we should all go out and get one of those daylight lamps. I think that anyone north of South Dakota should be automatically given one at birth as a gift from the government. I think I may just get one for next year. Up here in Canada the Mood Disorders Association has them to rent, or loan if you can't afford one, or you can buy one. I live in a small condo complex and most of my neighbours go to Texas for the winter. I have friends who go to Florida and I have cousins who go to Arizona. Actually when you stop and think about it, how can Canada function in the winter with so many people leaving for sunny destinations. I bet if some country were to get wind of all these people gone, well they just might up and take us over and no one would know the difference until Easter when everyone returns. Hey, maybe no one has clued into this cause they all disguise themselves as Canada geese when they go south. When you Americans have Canada Goose day - you know that day when it is open season on Canada Geese, you better take a better look to see if it isn't someone just dressed up as a goose. I jest of course. I just notice how much more traffic there is in my town since Easter. There is actually a traffic jam at the Co-op.

Anyhoo - I pulled out the quilt that Roscoe (aka the quilting dog) made. Actually, I sewed  it, but with his big nose (Bichon's have big noses), he picked out which piece of fabric I would sew next. Since then, he always has his big nose in on my sewing. Yes he has his own chair right beside me, and no it is not the comfy one - though he would be very happy if I let him have the comfy chair. Back to the quilt. I laid it out on my Big Girl King Size bed and at 108 inches x 108 inches you would think it would be big enough, but noooo not even close. I need to either make some more blocks or I need to put a border on it. If I make more blocks, I will probably have to rip-it so that the new material isn't all around the edges. In my haste (darn you Susan!) to use up and get my UFOs done, I used the rest of the fabric for my 2fer. You know - those quilts that you get two for the price of one out of all that fabric that yo bought that went together, but you only needed half of. Will have to think on it for a day and go through my neverending stash. That movie the NeverEnding Story really should have been about quilters stash you know. Anyway, here is some pictures of the quilt.

In the one above you can see where it doesn't quit cover the duvet underneath. In this next picture it shows a representing of the fabric I used.

I started out wanting to create a totally neutral quilt. The intention was to use a variety of lights and mediums with variations in between. I soon found that to be very dull and changed it to the more white, cream, beige, brown, grey, black and everything inbetween quilt. I am very pleased with how it turned out. I hope to get the solution to my problem worked out this weekend and hopefully in the search for fabric I will come across the foot and plug for my new Phaff I got last summer and only used twice cause I got the bug to move.

By the looks of the writing in this post, I must have had some silliness rub of on me this morning while I visited the two littles. Well, I do feel silly today and so it stays.

Have a great weekend everyone - Happy Spring!

Blessing

Jean

THE WONDERS OF NEW LIFE

Today was wonderfully warm......for awhile and then the blasted wind came up again. There is an old farmers tale that says if it is windy on Good Friday, then it will be windy for the next 40 days. I have been monitoring this for the past few years and it seems to be true. Mind you when you live on the flat bald headed prairie even a little breeze can seem like a big windstorm. Ah, summer will come and I will be desperate to feel a breeze. Funny thing human nature - we always want something we can't have at that moment.

Today was an exciting day for the extended family. We got to all go see the ultrasound of the new baby. Some were happy, others not so much. Granddaughter desperately wants a baby sister and yup she's getting another brother. What she doesn't realize is that she is six years older than the new one and she won't be able to play with him for a couple of years. Of course by that time she will just think of the two brothers as the pests who won't stay out of her room! She has fond memories of dressing her little brother in all her girly girl clothing and I think she looked forward to doing that again. Brother was more than happy to accomodate her, but now he is the ripe old age of three - don't think that's going to happen again any time soon. We do have some really cute photos of him that will be saved to be shown at some other more appropriate times - you know the ones - first girlfriend, wedding and of course to his children.LOL

Now as creative grandmom I get to make the quilt set. For granddaughter I made one in blues, yellows and creams. For her brother I made one with lions and tigers in blacks, bright greens and a bit of toffee colour. I was at a quilt show last week and could not pass up some fabric for the new wee one. So now all I have to do is decide what the pattern will be. For both of the other kids, I designed my own and I don't see anything changing with this one. I really like that everything is retro these days. I am also happy that I have kept most of my patterns, so let the sewing and stitiching begin!

On more of a stitchy note I have found a couple of new (to me) magazines. Both are French and I have ordered some Blefast Linen in a Victorian Red so that I can replicate some of the ideas presented in said magazines.  Now you say, how are you going to replicate them if everything is in French? Well, when I was in Junior and Senior High school, I excelled in French. I managed to pull off 100% in it. Could it be that the teacher thought I should date her handsome son who by the way, went on to be one of the best Kidney doctors in the world, or was it truly my abilities? After school I did not get to use it at all either spoken or written. Fast forward 40 years and I end up with a position working with the military. I had to communicate with the bases in Quebec and Quebecers are just as stuborn as the "english" people in Canada so it was sink or swim. I managed quite well for the years I had that position. So it will once again come to my rescue and it sure helps that the directions are in drawn picture form. For those that do hardanger you will know what I mean. By the way the two magazines are: Broiderie Tradition and Creation Point de Croix. Now, normally I DO NOT DO cross stitch, but they sure have some cute designs.

No pictures today. Keep forgetting to charge the camera up.

Enjoy your day!

Blessings
Jean

An Ode to Nike

My son and his family had to put their beloved dog to sleep today. Nike was 11 and had gone blind, had bladder and kidney troubles, arthritis and was at times becoming disoriented. We all loved Nike, but probably not to the extent that my daughter and youngest grandson did. There were tears today and I am sure there will be tears for a while.

Nike

When Nike came into our lives, my son and daughter-in-law lived in "the little house on the prairie". Within a few short months of living there, they obtained two dogs. Cassie, the first acquisition was a rescue dog from way up north. Cassie occupation would be to chase the ball for hours on end. Cassie was a bit territorial and if she didn't hear you coming, the situation could get a bit dicey. When she was probably 9 or 10, they decided it wasn't safe and had her put down. Nike had come from another pet rescue place. Both dogs were a little big for a 900 sq. ft. house so hours everyday would be spent outside.

Nike was a bit challenged when it came to learning to play with toys but my how she could run and run she did. You did not let her out of your site for a second or we would be running down the road often for miles to catch her and bring her back home. When she got home she would be smiling like she'd just won the dogie marathon! Her second occupation was digging. They put in a beautiful dog run which lasted all of about two weeks. No, the dogs didn't destroy it, Nike dug her way out so many times that there was no use in keeping the two of them in it any longer. So, what was the alternative - the horse barn. The dogs loved it in there. It was cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It had a dutch door and weather permitting, Nike could hang her head over the bottom part and watch the world go by. Thankfully, she never did get the notion that if she jumped, she could get out. From there they moved into a town and Nike's days changed. They had a yard that was fenced and Nike never did figure out how to get out. Her next occupation became goose chaser. My son runs a golf course and the players do not take kindly to having goose droppings all over the course. A few times a week my son would take Nike to the course. She loved her new job and took it seriously. Those poor geese never knew what hit them when Nike was on patrol.

When the two kids were born, they each had a favourite dog. Granddaughter's was Cassie and Grandson's was Nike, though he would never let on that he even liked Nike. However, if you took a glimpse around the corner more than likely grandson would be curled up next to Nike having a snooze. Already grandson is asking when Nike is coming home to cuddle with him - he's almost 3 and is having a hard time understanding. We have suggested to him that Nike is with granddad and that granddad is taking Nike to do a job with him. You see, grandson's favourite thing was to "do a job" with granddad. They would fix things and Glenn always had the patience and took the time to teach little grandson, so if he has the visual in his head of Granddad taking Nike to do a job with him, it might help him feel better about loosing his best friend.

As for my daughter, she took very good care of Nike when she was visiting with them and yes, she too will have many tears for Nike today. Even though she is in her 30s, I believe she hopes God has a special place for all the pets in heaven!

And so ends another day. I am thankful how this dog has made us all stop and pnder life today. My hope is that through the process of losing a pet, we will become softer hearted people. Not just towards animals, but towards people and relationships, as everything that happens in life is an opportunity for us to grow and become more Christ like.

Blessings

Jean

Moving In

Back to getting my stashes organized in my basement. Problem though - only two walls are finished, so not sure how far I will get in getting everything done. I did learn something today. Don't put all your threads in a bag or case with the present "I love it- going to take a week to do" project. That project takes much longer than a week, then I get sick of working on it and low and behold two years later it surfaces and guess what? Now I have triplicates of most threads - whether they be stitching threads or sewing threads. Guess I won't need new threads for a while. I got a brain wave this morning. I haven't got it all worked out in my head yet, but the jest is that I will have bins - sort of like the angled ones you see in produce markets - only different. They will have all my fabric lined up. So first all my quilting stuff on bolts, then my stitching fabric on bolts, then all my threads of course by manufacturer and of course this will all be colors together. So, red fabric, stitching fabric that is suitable for red stitching, then all my reds, pinks etc. of stitching threads, and sewing threads. So taking into account that if you use a not to detailed color wheel, it should work out fairly well. Of course the blacks will probably be mixed with greys and the whites will also be categorized. This is probably in a dream world, but right now I think it may be doable.

This a before of my area to be:

So as you can see a blank slate. Now all I need is a pattern and some of my tools back. May be a nice gentleman or two would be nice. Maybe I will be fortunate and Chris and Megan will come for a visit and he will take pity on me and help me put up a couple of walls - nothing like a working vacation for him. Guess, I would have to think of something spectacular to bribe him with. Of course "She Who Must Be Obeyed" has first dibs on his time. Guess it's time her or I got into dating and find a man who will build for us. That's not going to happen any time soon. She is sensing God calling her back to missions and this time she feels a tug to long term.

Not going to do too much inside today. It is so beautiful out, it may mean a trip over to the park and a long walk, or at least as long as my hip holds out. This time of year is hard on the old joints! That DD - Roscoe - has been staring at me for awhile. No he doesn't have brown eyes - already did that run, but he certainly enjoys his new abode and enjoys the jaunts to the park. Loves the smell of the deer, rabbits etc. Will have to see if I can convince some one to come and we will do a hot dog, marshmallow roast over the open fire pit. Ah, Sunday bliss - worship, rest and enjoyment in the great outdoors.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend and for those of you with a long weekend - GET OUT AND DO SOMETHING!

Blessings

Jean

Spring is on the Way

Yesterday, was a beautiful day here and it was one of those days where the snow gets that spring feel. You can feel the difference in the air and in sights around you. Even though we have had virtually no winter, I am so excited to have spring start making an appearance.

Hope you all had a great Valentine's day. I spent mine with my daughter, daughter-in-law and some of the littles. My daughter-in-laws parents came also. We dined on Chinese food, watched a bit of Big Bang Theory, talked and laughed and generally had a ball. My granddaughter is big into celebrations, so she dressed in a fancy pink dress with hearts adorning it during the day and in the evening put on red pjs. So neat to have a girly-girl in the family. Of course I didn't take my camera, hence no pics. Food was really good.

This week so far, I have worked on a hardanger piece that I started a couple of years ago and a knitting project for an upcoming birthday. I need to get it done as someone else would also like something knitted for their birthday. Back to the hardanger piece. I just love hand work whether it be embroidery of some time, sewing, knitting or whatever. So, it is hard for me to fathom why I start a piece and then it goes by the wayside for a while. I guess it is because there is so much inspiration out there, whether it is on the web, in magazines, at quilt or stitching shows or what someone has in their house or are wearing. Don't you just love the way God made everyone talented in some way? I love that for every person in the world, they are given a gift and to see how people use their gifts in so many talented ways is a blessing to us. Thank you Lord for all the gifts available and thank you that people share them and bless us by using their gifts.

Today, I plan on taking Mr. Dog to the provincial park that is close by. He needs a good long walk. He has been getting into mischief while I am work - nuff said! Then I am going to get a head start on household chores so I can truly enjoy the upcoming long weekend.

Take time to slow down today and enjoy this beautiful day God has given us.

Blessings
Jean

Rainy days and Mondays always make me blue

Is that how that song goes?  I was visiting another blog and she used Snowy days and Mondays and it got me to thinking what was that line anyway. It was a good line - it really makes you stop and think about what affects the way a person thinks or perceives life. This blog at http//www.cozylittlehouse.com has a great blurb today, yesterday and Saturday also regarding depression. As it is Mental Illness Month, go on over and see what she and her followers have to say, or visit your local Mood Disorder Association. We really do need to get the work out that Mental Illness is a Disease and not some old label that was given it a few hundred years ago. The stigma has gone on long enough and a lot of individuals are suffering needlessly because of "what people might think".

She who must be obeyed was over yesterday. She challenged me in ways that I didn't think were possible. She suggested that I may be getting rid of my husband so to speak so that I don't have to face the hurt. We discussed it and as I mulled the discussion over in my mind and through prayer. I realized that after Glenn died, we all had made a pact or commitment to keep Glenn alive for the littles and for ourselves. That we would talk open and freely share whatever we remembered. In my fog, the looking for a new abode, the move, and everything else that went on in the past year, she was right. There wasn't much out on display to remind everyone of him and I think they all felt like they had to pussy foot around me when sharing their stories. So, the stories get shared just not with me. Today was a bad "Glenn" day as I realized that because I let life and my quest for what I am supposed to be now, get in the way, I had neglected to think about them and their needs. They need to see reminders of dad and granddad and I had let them down. You see, I had Glenn in my mind, in my heart and in a few private pictures - you know the ones. Pictures from when you first met, when your children were born, a favorite picture of you and him and of course the last picture of him. But I did not share them and that is not good. So in the next few days Glenn will be reappearing in my house in a lot bigger way than what he has been in the past couple of months. I hope that some of these pictures, items etc. will trigger discussion and we can return to healing as a family and not just trying to do it on our own. Isn't God faithful. He took something that troubled G. and at just the right time, presented it, not to open the grief again, but to bring a new dynamic to our healing. Now, I look forward to this challenge. I would like to challenge every widow(er) out there to share the stories. Most of us are not writers, but even a few lines here or there would be greatly appreciated by our children, grandchildren great grandchildren etc. Or how about this - tape the stories. Stories are very important to families. Future off-spring need to know that Granddad was short, had the dreamiest blond hair and had a mustache that tickled just so when he kissed grandma. Tomorrow is Valentines day - how about starting there. What were your valentines day like? What was the most memorable? For me I liked the days where I would come home from work and there would be a Kit Kat on the table - for no reason other than he loved me and appreciated me. If it bring tears, they are healing tears - let them fall!

Happy Valentines day everyone!


Blessings
Jean

Little Green Quilter Friday update

Yay! I finally have an update for all of you. This past week I started feeling somewhat normal again, so hence, housework is getting caught up, cooked an evening meal every night this week .... and it wasn't soup! However, today I will be making potato leek soup. I may even make some ww buns to go with. But first I have a long list of things to do on this my first day off of the week.
Clean Kitchen - check
Make Bed - check
Clean Bathrooms - check
Take pictures - check
Work on a project for one of the littles - check

This all done before 7:00 a.m.  The rest of the day, I plan on getting my dusting done. New house + construction zone out side +dog = lots of dust. I will also vacuum and am debating whether I will wash the floors or wait till tomorrow. The two littles are coming this afternoon as mom has a meeting at work. I then plan to work on some other projects.I have been observing other people who have blogs out there and how they accomplish getting their projects done. Some, work till they finish one, then go onto the next. Some, designate a project to each day of the week. These people usually have bar graphs on their blogs showing how much to go till each project is finished. This way it takes longer to finish a project, but at least that way, you get a few done. Then there are those who vow not to start anything new until all other projects are done. Two things wrong with this to my way of thinking is 1. there is probably a reason why these projects aren't done (not what we expected, become bored with it, the intended purpose has passed/changed). 2. With all the stash I have, all I have to do is take a peek and my mind goes to all the things I want to make. The trouble with "taking a peek" for me is that I get overwhelmed and discouraged over how much stuff I have and how long it will be before I get to use it.

Well true to winter in Manitoba, the coldest week of winter is also the one that breaks the back of winter. For us it is the latter part of this week and into the middle/end of next week. One time my sister-in-law came for a valentine visit and she could not believe how anyone could live here! Today the mean temp. is -28C with a windchill making it feel like -42C. That is close to -40F. Love it! It cleans all the viruses out and from here on in we know spring is a comin'. We have had such a mild winter that I really do hope this is it for winter this year. The last few winters have bee rather long, so I think we deserve a short one.

I have come upon a few blogs out there that have become really fun to read and I wish to share them with you. The first is Coni over at http://spinstersticher.blogspot.com . Her blog is mostly about stitching, but her dog Stewy often hijacks the blog to give his take on things. He calls her Mo-ther and has an Aunt Chrissy. Coni has a great imagination, so please go visit her.

Another blog I visit on a daily basis is written by Faree. It is at http://widowschristianplace.com It is a blog dedicated to being a widow(er). Every day she has a different subject i.e. Fridays are fun days. She comes up with a good clean joke, picture or some other thing that will make the cockles of your heart smile. She has guests some days. So please if you are struggling with being a widow- please go there.

Now on to the pictures.  These are my updates for the week. The first is from some left overs I had from a quilt someone commissioned me to do. I have taken a few ideas and am integrating them together using only the left overs and maybe a bit of other stash if needed. I like these quilts. I call them 2fers.

Yes, I use a plastic tablecloth for a design wall. The stripes on the front don't usually show that much, but maybe I will be looking for one with a lighter front this year.

This is more of what the middle will look like.

The other little piece on the left in the first picture is one of many I have made - just can't find the rest just yet.

I have been still making the little hats and so an update on that. The one on the left needs something at the crown, just not sure what. I love the boat hat on the right.

I will be doing some sewing as well

Out of this

Will come this

And out of these two fabrics:

Will come this:

So that's what I'm doing. Go on over to Sue's blog and see what the rest of us are doing.
http://www/blackberrycreek.typepad.com

Have a GREEAAT Day! (Yes, I loved Tony the Tiger too!)

Blessings
Jean

In A Fog.....

You may thing that with being a widow of a year, that I am still in THAT fog, but alas, no, we have living in fog for the past week. This is no ordinary fog - it is the real pea soup kind where you can't see your hand in front of your face. It was funny earlier in the week. There was a forklift right in front of my house. That DD (darn dog) and I went to set out for our morning walkie. I couldn't see it, he couldn't see it, we couldn't even see his flashing light, but he was there, we could hear him. Roscoe sure wasn't sure about that and looked at me with his puzzled you've got to be kidding - if I can't see it - I'm certainly not walking THAT WAY! Well, walking that way was the safer so I darn near had to carry him past the obstacle until he felt safe enough to get down and get into smelling everything.

Though a dense fog like that throws all your senses out, it sure is beautiful and quiet. This morning as we were walking, the fog had lifted just enough that I could look a bit into the bush and see the fog swirling through the trees, but still dense enough that you could not see the tops of the trees. Ah, God's world, what majesty. Today, my daughter, the dd and myself will be going to the nearby provincial park for a walk. She had done a number on her foot about three months ago. She fell off her bottom step going into her basement. All stairs are not equal in older houses. Anyway she tore all her ligaments, all her tendons and may have broken her foot. One X-ray showed it broken, but future ones did not, probably because her foot was so swollen. She went to the doctor yesterday and he said no go. No work! No play! Just sit and elevate it. He says it has improved somewhat, so in her mind she is determined to get it moving. So today she will join me and my pint size friend for a walk. It will be interesting to see how far she can go. Then we will go to my #1 son's to take care of the wee ones. I will provide dinner dear. It will be Thai coconut chicken, Jasmine rice and asparagus. For the wee one's I am not sure what we will add. They are 5 and 2 so every day is an adventure if they will eat any given food on any given day. Don't you just love how they develop their taste buds and preferences - soo fun to watch.

I have been out of action for the past three weeks. Came down with Bronchitis, probably from all the up and down weather we have had. In Manitoba you can always count on it hitting at least -40C or -40F at least for a few days in January, which means that usually Christmas is already cold. Our first break in the cold usually comes just after Valentine's day and then we get into snow season, where you don't go anywhere without checking three different weather reports. No one wants to get stuck in a blizzard. I digress, when it gets so cold, all the viruses, germs and whatever freeze and usually very few get sick in the middle of winter. This year not so, we have been in the +1 (32F) to about +5 (40F) for the past few weeks. Real treat in some ways - not so for the travel agents. Ya win some, ya lose some. I will not be complainin' I love the warmer weather.

While I was sick, I did not, I ah say - did not - are ya listen boy (loved that cartoon) do any sewing, stitching, blogging or anything else of interest. It sapped me of any strength and interest. I am now back at doing what I do best and am looking forward to this weekend to work on what I want when I want. So onto the pictures .....

The first two pics are during the fog and finally the last two are of God's beautiful handiwork left after the fog cleared. Hope you all have a great day!

Blessings
Jean

UFO Update and pictures

Today is our day to post our progress for the UFO challenge over at Blackberry Creek Home Arts hostessed by Sue. I am so thankful that Sue has once again allowed me to take up the challenge for 2012. I was a bad bad UFOer last year and finished maybe two items. I think she understood why as just a couple of years ago she too lost her husband. So thank you Sue for hosting the challenge. My goals for this year are along the same lines as last year - to finish off all, some, hopefully more than one item this year. I have three quilts that need to be layered and quilted, I have one that I am working on the hand quilting and I have about ten or more embroidery projects that I would like to finish. Along with this, I am also challenging myself to use up some of my mounds and mounds of yarn. To that end, I have finished three little baby hats.

I originally am from the Calgary/Banff Alberta area and one of my nieces works at the Canmore hospital. My sister has been knitting small hats for the newborns and the preemie babies for a few years. The hospital now has opened a new section and is expecting 500+ babies to be born durng 2012. Quite a few of these babies will come from the Stoney Nakota reserve which is actually where I am from. Before I was born, there was a coal tipple (processing and loading) station on the reserve which serviced a mine that was in the Kananaskis region. The mine closed down before I was born. There was still coal to be shipped, cleanup to be done and disposal of equipment and buildings. My dad stayed on to do all that and to keep an eye on both the mine area and the tipple area. So these babies are related to the aboriginals that we knew and in some cases hung out with when we were young. The reserve is in not good shape these days (as are most of the reserves in Canada), and so I am so proud of my sister M. for taking up this challenge given her by her daughter. I have decided it is a good way to use up the extra bits of yarn.

All three

The Beanie

The Squash

The skier

I am not sure how long I will do the hats, guess it depends on the amount of yarn I find hidden.

Now a few pics of the new abode. I now live in a small town just outside of Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is quiet and it is new - so nothing to breakdown in the near future. I do miss the character of the older homes, but for now this is my choice. I need to regroup and rest from the last few years of struggle. 

The dining "room" and kitchen eating area.

I haven't found a small table for the kitchen eating area yet, so am using my sewing machine table.

My kitchen

The "living" room

The house has the great room concept.

I will add the rest of the pictures in tomorrow as when I went through them, well they just need to be redone.

Have a great day!

Blessings

Jean









Welcome to this New Year! It will be a year of opportunity, of life enriching experiences, of lots and lots of love and filled with hope. Praise the Lord for all that he gave us in the past and it will be so exciting to go through another year with him. I look forward to all the life changing he will be doing in each of our lives. This morning He reminded me of not carrying our own burdens, but to take his yoke upon us--- which is light. Thank you holy spirit for reminding me that this journey through widowhood is not to be walked alone. It is to be shared with him and with others. I believe it may be one of the greatest blessings he has given me. Now, don't get me wrong here. I love my children and loved my husband dearly, but this is truly the first time I am all on my own. During the past year I ran kicking and screaming and basically hating every day - but this past week my children had a wonderful opportunity to go west to visit my siblings and their families in the Calgary, Canmore, Banff area. So I didn't have anywhere I needed to be. I didn't have anyone I needed to talk to and truly TV and radio are boring. With me being isolated in this way, God certainly used this time to talk to me. I watched and learned from Charles Stanley, Joyce Meyer, James Robison, and a few Canadian chaps. I immersed myself in the word and was rewarded with much that I had temporarily forgotten. I say temporarily, because I believe that each time we read or here the word, that it is retain somewhere in our being and at just the right time God brings it out. At the time of reading or hearing we may say well that didn't teach me anything, but be patient cause it will mean something down the line.

We had a good Christmas! Christmas Eve was held at my new abode, and then my charming daughter-in-law N. sponsored Christmas Day. From the minute my door opened, it was like a train ride. The three grandkids and one "pretend" grandchild all came roaring through the door, dropping boots, coats etc and running into the first room of my house (the guest bedroom). They start out by jumping on the bed. It is an old bed, so I don't mind. From there it is onto my bedroom where I have the "giant" bed and so they must try that one out. From there it is a quick tour of the living area to see if there really are presents and snacks, then onto downstairs where the toys are. After checking the basement out it is onto playing hide-and-seek which takes them a while, after all they have to be patient with those little people. Then it is a big game of tag at which time the head upstairs for snacks. This whole episode takes roughly half an hour then it's when can we OPEN THE PRESENTS Grandmom!!! It was a good time in spite of the madcap adventures it was peaceful. For dinner Christmas Eve we chose to do something different so we had cheese fondue. I|t was enjoyed by all until the pot blew up. I am a great fan of PC (President`s Choice) appliances. I always find them to be of good quality, so I am sure that it was the operators and not the pot itself. * Note to self, next time have a couple of people in charge. I was disappointed that this year there were no later church services. In my new town, two churches had 4:00 service, one was 5:30 and one church did not have any service. I know it was because of the churches having regular services the next morning, but I still missed them.

On to creativity. With none, or next to none being done last year, this year I hope to feel more like doing something. So with that in mind I will be hooking up with Sue over at Blackberry Creek Home <script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.blenza.com/linkies/autolink.php?owner=MaryJean&postid=1_1_2012&meme=6982'></script> for her UFO Challenge 2012. She said she got 12 projects finished to my 3. I really hope to do better this year. I think that the main reason, was that my Glenn was my biggest fan and supporter of my creativity and it just did not seem right to work on anything. Hopefully my blogging will be much more regular also.

Enjoy this first day of this wonderful New Year.

Blessings
Jean

Well, how is everyone doing? I have been visiting quite a few blogs and see that everyone is well into their fall, Christmas quilting and stitching. I bought the first of what is usually many Chrismas Recipe magazines. She who must be obeyed and my dear daughter-in-law and I pour over them quite a bit and then we start in on the baking. Some goes to my work, some goes with she-who-must-be-obey to her work and of course miss N takes some home to the kiddies. The rest we dole out here and there. Some goes in the mail to friends and family who don't bake, some goes to people we wish to show our appreciation for - like the police department, the fire deparment and the hospital emergency room. To me without these hard working people our lives would be much different. Yes, I know there are others out there who work hard and change our lives, but these ones are special to me. My kids know quite a few police officers and firefighters/paramedics and I am always so thankful for the way Glenn was taken care of at the local hospital. I think lots of times these professions take a bum rap for things they had no way of controling or knowing. Soon, probably once I move, our hands will be busy.

I have found a new abode. It isn't the one I mentioned in the last post, but it is a very good choice for me and I feel so blessed that God has provided it. It is a townhouse condo, 2000 sq. ft. open concept on the main floor with the bedrooms being upstairs. It has two and a half baths and it has not one but TWO sunrooms. One is a four season and one is a three season. I look forward to decorating them and being able to have my coffee out there every morning and watch the sun come up and do my praying and bible reading out there. It also has a double attached garage and a deck. I often have neices and nephews staying, some from close in that need a place to sleep when the highways get bad in the winter and some are from another province. It will be nice for them to have a nice bed and bath all to themselves. Without seeing it yet, the grandkids have decided which rooms will be theirs when they stay over. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out once I get in there - will the one grandaughter be more vocal than the two boys?  Somehow I think she may win as the two boys are such gentlemen.

My oldest grandson has just been diagnosed with ADD, and a slow processor. He also has all the characteristics of Asperger's Syndrom but has not been formally diagnosed with it. It took a very long time to get this far, but now I can say it is good it took this long. My son and my grandson's mom don't see eye-to-eye on anything. There has been a lot of hurt through the years and with this diagnosis, I can see the loving God we have and all that he has done to prepare our hearts for true forgiveness and true love for each other. It has been one amazing miracle after another and I am certain there are more to come as time unfolds. My son did give his heart to Jesus when he was young, but has not been walking with Jesus for quite a few years. My grandson's mom has not given her heart to Jesus but I believe we will see changes in the next while. It has also been suggested that this grandson attend a private school to the tune of 15,000 per year. As a family we cannot come up with that kind of money, definately some of it, but not all, so the school has put out a request for a very near full bursary for him and I believe God has been working on this for some time and this too will come about. I am excited to see how God will provide, whether it is through this private school or some other way.

I have been so busy getting rid of stuff and packing that there is still nill done in the quilting and stitching department. I will be happy to move and have a whole room dedicated to my creativity. I did unpack a stitchery project as I really need to do something creative, so one day soon I will put up pictures. Yes, I did get a new camera, but now where is the darn thing????

Have a great weekend.

Blessing,
Jean

A Lost Summer

As it is now almost the end of August, I have officially lost all of this summer. If you were to ask what I did, I can't remember. I certainly didn't go anywhere. It took me till the end of July just to clean up from winter. I do remember the blistering hot days with humidty that did more than curl my hair. I will really be glad when it cools down and stays that way! This week we are to get back up to +35 with humidex of +40 so hot again.

Mostly, I've been thinking about changing my life and what that entails. I know that I want to move by the end of October. Will it happen? I sure hope so because usually halloween night winter starts. It is so weird. During the day of halloween it is usually a very mild day with temps. up in the 18 to 20 range (around 68 F) and then once the kids hit the streets, the wind comes up and by the end of the night it is snowing. Yes there have been a few years where that did not happen, but they are few and far between. Anyway, back to moving! I really would like to move before the snow falls. I have my eye on a couple of places and hope to have it all sorted out this week. Then I can get my house up for sale. I am told it will take a week at most to sell. Before I can list though there are a couple of things that need doing. The people who renovated my house did not know to tape the drywall (or maybe just skipped a step) - hence in my sewing room (a.k.a. the spare bedroom), the ceiling looks like it could fall at any time. You can also see where they put up the metal on the corners, but again did not tape. In the living room, my dear departed darling decided to see how they made the bay window, so out came a bit of drywall and boy I don't know what planet he was on when he fixed it - what a mess. His dad was a carpenter and painter and the apple really fell far from the tree in this case. I also need to put some new carpet in the basement and paint down there. You would think that I would know a drywaller but no, no, no, not a one to be had. I need to find one this week. Hopefully will be able to find a painter too. In my dream world they would be one and the same. The carpeting, I am hoping both sons and my daughter will do that, but that too may be only a fading dream. If only some other relatives lived closer, but they are all at least 900 miles away.

I am wading through my life and finding it very interesting to see the things I wasted good money on and know within my heart, I will never get to creating or using them. I know at some time Glenn must have warned my about this, but did I listen? Never, and now I am really sorry I didn't. I really had to have a good confession and prayer time with that. In fact, God has been dealing with a lot of things big and little that I probably wouldn't have let him in to deal with if Glenn was alive. I know it sounds bad that Glenn had to die so I would smarten up, but it really isn't like that at all. God's timing is perfect and so his time to take Glenn was then and now it is time to deal with things and move on.
Moving on is hard too. Some days I miss Glenn so much, I too want to go home, but in my heart I know now isn't the time. As I go through all our things deciding what goes and what stays, it really shows me how unimportant things here on earth are and how important prayer, obedience, trust and relationships are. I am praying now very differently than in the past and God has given me different burdens than before. What a wonderful God we have. As for the things, I also realize how little I need on a day to day basis. After I get through them mess in my sewing room, (why oh why did I keep all those scraps and patterns from the internet) I will just have a few things to get rid of in the basement and a whole lot of old paperwork. Glenn believed with all his heart that if he threw out one scrap of paper it would come back to bite him. So we will be having a few fires once it gets a bit cooler. I have so much furniture to get rid of also. Though I am only in a 1180 sq. ft. place, there were areas that needed larger furniture i.e. who wants three sofas? I am really hoping to get this condo that is a little way out of town. It is an apartment type with 1320 sq.ft. and has just been totally remodelled. It is gorgeous I tell you. If I get it I will post pics. Two bedrooms, one is set up for an office and has a murphy bed. That one will make a great sewing room. It has a large laundry room where I plan to keep all my fabric and stitching gear. It has a great kitchen, dining room, living room that is open concept. The bedrooms are not side by side and have their own bathrooms. It has a very nice balcony that has an attached terrace. I swear the terrace is so big I could fit my current house on it. I am really looking forward to being able to entertain out there. It overlooks the river and the lock. I would be on the second story and underneath my terrace is the indoor parking. I like this one so much but if it gets sold before I am ready, then I know God has something even better, so am not worried at all. All I can say is that if this falls through, I will be very excited to see what God does provide. My daughter would like me to move to a town closer to her. I am hesitant though winter driving here is really bad sometimes. The vehicles are good for the weather, it usually is the blowing snow that makes the drive so bad.

Roscoe went to a new groomer last week. She did an awesome job. She did a short show cut and he knew it! As we strolled around the block you could see him smile and hold his head up high and oh my when he saw the "missus" well she really hurried her walk to keep up to Roscoe. Usually the missus is very slow and stops to have three or four good rolls in the grass or snow. Her "dad" could hardly keep up to the pace that day. By the way he is a Bichon and she is a large golden retriever. The neighbours have such a laugh over the two of them. Just a few days ago, the neighbours across were walking their little shitzu cross. A few of us were standing there talking when they came up, so I introduced their little lady as the "mistress". We all had a good laugh over that. Roscoe will miss the girls, but hey I'm sure there are more out there for the little gigolo.

Got a new camera so maybe one day soon there will be pics. Have been working still on my stash with a couple of quilts. Got a new Phaff so am slowly getting use to it. In the needlework area I am working on one Hardanger piece and one cross stitch. I normally don't do much cross stitch, but in this case I will make an exception.

Have a blessed week all!
Jean

Boy, this is Bad

I haven't blogged in what seems like forever. I would start and then either my mind would go blank or something would come up. Sorry, I hope to do better in the future. My UFO progress this week does not include pictures cause She Who Must Be Obeyed borrowed my camera for a memorial service and a wedding last weekend and I don't think I will see it again until we go to Calgary next weekend.Anyway, I have finished a Halloween quilt, I finished the little pink quilt, I have been working on the Caterpillar quilt and on some hardanger objects. I will put pictures up but probably not before we go to Calgary.

Has been a ride here during the last month. First it was near 30 degrees Celsius that would be about 90 degrees Fahrenheit then this past week we had three days with frost and we have had so much rain, we can hardly get time to mow the lawn. It is raining again today and the city is telling us to watch for sewer backup as both rivers are so high. I haven't got any of my pretties out for the summer yet, but did do a good job on the dandelions. I bought one of those Fiskars weed removal tools and boy does it ever work. It took me the better part of two days, but both my front and back lawns are done. I only have the boulevard to do and that is a real mess. For those who think the holes left behind by the removal are too big and unsightly, I just take some potting soil and a bit of seed and fill in each hole. Generally I leave them for a week before I do this as it is a free way of aerating the lawn. I don't think I will do too many pots this year and I must say the first mowing of the year went well...except I had to move the snow blower to get at the lawnmower and I dropped the snow blower on my foot and broke a toe in the process. On Wednesday, my second disaster day, I was filling the dishwasher and went to put some cutlery in, scraped my finger on a knife, jumped (yelled too) and then the darn door slammed shut on my finger. Good thing it's on the left hand. I went to the Dr. yesterday and she figured it was broken, but I shouldn't go to the sport injury hospital as they were full up. I should go this morning. Well, going by past experience, there is only so much time you have until the bone starts to set. I figure I am past that and at this point they would have to re-brake it. I think I will just leave it. It really doesn't look too bad, just a bit crooked and my knuckle is a bit bigger and since some of my other knuckles are already bigger from arthritis, and it seems to be a bit better this morning, I will leave it. For those of you who are not Canadian a usual wait to be seen in an emergency is usually 2-4 hours if it isn't busy and 6-12 hours or more if they get backed up. With it being sport season, I figure I wouldn't be out of their until 7 or 8 tonight. I am sure that it is like this all over the world as it depends on the triage methods. As I am not in danger of dying any time soon, I will wait. I am very thankful though that when you really need to be seen i.e. heart, stroke, accident you are seen very fast and I truly believe that is how it should be. I think far too many people use the emergency as a regular doctor and puts too much stress on the system. I am aware that there is a shortage of doctors, but there are walk in clinics that are just as good if not better for most health issues that arise. I am very thankful for healthlinks that is for when you really are not sure where to go. I think the system works well for the most part.

Anyway, that wasn't what I was going to blog about, but some days that is what happens.

Blessing to all and have a good weekend and long weekend for those in the US
Jean

It's been a long long time

Guess I got back in the grieving mode again. Did not feel like working on anything or doing anything other than cry, read or sleep. But thanks to some much appreciated visitors in the form of my sister, BIL, my niece and my great niece, we had a lovely time together for Easter. My sister and I went to the new Wingfield performance which was wonderful. It was the first time she got to see him live. For those of you not in Canada, Wingfield is a one man play whereby in each play, he acts five or six parts. It has been on TV here for the past few years and usually before the new TV season begins, he goes on the road and does the plays live. During the summer he also acts at the Stratford Festival in Ontario. Beautiful weather while they were here and then last week. We even hit 20C (68F) and then tada - a blizzard hit this weekend. In the city we are fortunate to only have 3 or 4 inches of snow, but further west they got 50 cm which is about 20 inches. With this years flood being the largest we have ever had area wise (covers the most area of the province), this recent rain - yes we got rain also about 3inches and the snow, they say that parts of the province will be covered in water until July. So, I believe many more farmers will be quiting their much needed profession. So many have left over the last few years because of wet years and also bad markets for some grains etc., that I would hate to even guess how many small farms are still being farmed. We need the farmers and so I am praying that somehow they will be able to survive another year. Hope to get some stitching done this week and a bit more blogging. I also need to get going on the Family reunion, I am coordinating for July.

Have a blessed week!  J

When will that dog learn!

Roscoe ripped his ligaments in his hind knee last Tuesday. I was at work at the time, but from the look of the clothes hamper, I think that is what he had the fight with. Needless to say, he had to have Surgery on Thursday, by Sunday he had broken his stitches and had to go back in for new stitches. He is starting to do better, but I get to do some fun things to help him. I get to feed him his kibble by hand - can't get at his bowl with his cone head, then I get to shove three different meds down his gullet three times a day, and everytime we come to stairs, I have to carry him. He has the habit of sleeping on the bed, so which means that I lift him up, he settles down, decides he needs a drink, whines at me, I lift him down, he gets a drink, then I lift him back up again. This scenario goes on at least three times each night. I have tried to get him to sleep on his own bed, but nothing doing! Because his stitches had to be put back in, he will now be cone head for ten more days. On the plus side, he can now put a little weight on his foot.

I am going to pick up my new vehicle tomorrow and along with that, I will be picking it up in --you guessed it -- the snow. The snow was just nicely starting to go, we can even see a bit of bare spots, but after the next couple of days we will just see snow again. When oh when is this winter ever going to end. The geese are slowly coming back but no Robins as yet. Hopefully soon it will change. I have this "thing" that says once we have +10C (50F) the back of winter is broken. We haven't even been close yet.

On the creative front, I have almost finished a halloween wall hanging I found in the back of the closet and the blue scrap quilt is layered, so hopefully tomorrow or Thursday I will actually finish them. It would be nice to actually get a kink up on Sue's blog. For me that would be a big accomplishment. I have also been working on a cross stitch fairy picture for my granddaughters new room. The knitting also continues, however slowly. Wish I was retired and had a bit more time, though I shouldn't complain, I only work 5 hours a day and only Monday to Thursay.

Well, the dog is calling my name, which I assume has been changed from Jean to Whine. Wonder what he wants this time. LOL

Blessing Whine!