Where Oh Where,

Did the weekend go? I just wanted to crash and burn Friday. I got out for my power walk at lunch, did some head shots for an upcoming promotional campaign at work on my break (now if that's not motivation to lose weight I don't know what is), picked up the van from it's tire change and servicing, picked up the remaining groceries, cooked supper and then was back out the door with the boys for swimming. Matt came along and we decided to go walking, although I've come to find he's not as fast...and we happened to run into one of our old university friends who lived in the neighborhood we were walking in. It was kind of nice getting caught up without Alex hiding behind us or wanting to get the show on the road. After the lesson was over it was auto bedtime for the boy (the timing of the lesson is perfect for a shower and change into pjs at the Y) and we flaked on the couch with some Stargate and stitching.

Wednesday I started Willy from Stitchy Kitty's Snowman Trio and I adore him. I decided to go DMC for him instead of the variegated option mostly because I don't find it adds to the project that much. The only place I could have seen benefiting from it is his scarf but I'm more than happy with it. That's the one change in my stitching that surprises me the most I guess. There was a time where everything had to be EXACTLY as charted...and really this got to be expensive, especially for pieces where it wasn't noticeable, and it just takes a bit more time to individually stitch each one. Not to mention that around here the threads don't seem to be nearly as variegated as the models which is quite frustrating. I now use a little more discretion using it mainly in pieces that are either going to a)stay in our house, b) have big blocks of colour c) require a multicolor variegated d) is a sampler or e) quaker'ish/country/LK patterns. That being said, I can't wait for my Simple Stitches Nativity to come in.

Saturday we were up fairly early and headed to the city's farmer's market for some sausages, orange juice, local blueberry wine and lox. Somewhere along the ride to pick up a new button for Matt's pants and the low fat crackers and cream cheese to go with our little feast the week's activities wore me down and I retreated for a 4.5 hour nap. After that we packed up my stitching and Matt updated his pod casts and we headed to McDonald's. I'm not big on the place so my WW points were saved for the wine and crackers. Alex had a blast in the new playground and was drenched when we took him home. He was quickly sent to bed and we cracked open our little treat, stitched and watched Patriot Games for the hundredth time (we're really exciting)

Sunday was busy as well. There were Christmas lights to bring in, taxes to do, a van to vacuum, sheets to wash, painting and reading sessions with Alex and an Usborne party to go to :) I was pretty good and stuck mainly to my list. I got one extra book for Alex for his birthday which he'll love and that qualified me to pick up two math practice books half price (which we've been looking for) so that was good. Somehow in all of the craziness I managed to get the majority of Willy's scarf stitched along with his face and scarf. I think I'll be sleeping the entire way to our girlie getaway this weekend ;)

Do You Ever...

Have the feeling the week is never going to end? Welcome to my world. Alex schedule just got a little more hectic lately with Karate and swimming in the mix. We've adjusted quite well after prepping for a couple of weeks. So...when you have
-follow up trip to the doctor
-vehicle maintenance
-field trip
-parent teacher
-stitch night
Fall on on the same week, look out ;)

Stitching night was fun. Alot of the girls were pretty hyped up about retreat, although Cathey, Faith Ann and I are opting for a get away next weekend instead. The way this week has been I think I'd be sleeping and not enjoying it anyway. I got a start on Stitchy Kitty's Snowman Trio last night which works up surprisingly fast considering I was gabbing more than stitching ;) I was pretty impressed with how much of the hat was stitched considering. Although I pretty much collapsed in bed upon arriving home!!

What's up this weekend? Nothing...well at least not on Saturday as I need a real day off. Unless of course Matt's motivated to put up the new lights in the kitchen. Sunday I have an Usborne party to go to. I looked over the catalogue and am going in with a firm list of books for the moment, one baby shower gift and two for Alex's birthday Although I plan to sit back and gather lots of information for private orders throughout the year. ;)

Life Is Full Of Meetings And Partings

Life is sprinkled with a handful of profound moments. One that sticks in my mind was while I was being driven home by my husband after finding out my grandmother had passed away. I was looking out the window in my distracted grief ridden state and there were people leaving their offices for the day, people gathering groceries and other out walking their dogs. Eventhough my world had stopped, millions of people in the world were travelling full speed ahead completely unaware of my misery and the realization that someday my life would go forward again, eventhough significantly altered was as calming as it was profound.

We had a wonderful day yesterday. We prepared Matt a birthday breakfast before work. I went walking at lunch to get some decorations and Matt arrived home to streamers balloons and two red head blowing horns at him the second he walked in the door. He loved his cards and gifts from near and far and once that wrapped up we headed out for a delicious meal at Jungle Jim's. We ended the festivities with ice cream cake (not my fave but I wasn't the birthday boy). Matt unfortunately had a trans Atlantic work call to deal with after Alex was in bed so I hopped on the internet to find out a dear stitching friend's world had 'stopped'. It made me reflect on that car ride and how we'd been hurtling forward oblivious to what had been happening all day. While we were celebrating the anniversary of one of our family entering a world the day will forever be marked for another as when their loved one left the world and for millions of others, it's was just another day.

Needless to say this morning's break involved finding a sympathy card for Tracy (of Fiddlestitch Cottage) which I find difficult. I just can't bring myself to buy a 'deep' card. It's not that I didn't appreciate any I've recieved in the past. I try to find one that expresses to that the recipient that we're thinking about them, the ones left to mourn. I find it frustrating that so many focus on either the specific loss or the 'freedom' of being deceased. However, I did manage to find 'old faithful' and am contemplating either buying the remaining stock or incorporating the following verse into handmade cards.

"Please remember, in your sorrow,
you have many friends who care.
You're someone very special,
and you're thought about in prayer."

You're in our thoughts and prayers Tracy

Happy Birthday Hubby

Although it's been insanely busy here, I'll take a moment to wish my DH Matt a great big happy 35th birthday!! :)

Nothing Makes You Feel Old Like...

'The reunion comes 20 years after the release of the group's multi-platinum album, "Hanging Tough." '

20 years, ack!!!!!!

Now to figure out how to get to one of the concerts ;)

Last night was the first night I actually got to sit down and do some stitching all week. It's just been 'one of those weeks'. Hopefully if all goes smoothly the Easter Snapper will be complete this weekend and I can move on to a couple of other potential projects :)

However it will be a busy weekend around the house. Some old friends of ours are visiting from Moncton so we're going out to dinner this evening. Then there is the air exchanger to finish installing and the new light fixtures to put up. On top of that there are some prep things to do for Matt's birthday and dinner prep to do to make next week run smoothly. Alex starts Karate lessons two nights a week (although this session we're only committing to going once a week) and swimming so were' going to be busy for the next couple of months. Our slow cooker had better not go on the fritz ;)

April Fools

I wish! Our e-mail has been down since 11. I'm beginning to feel pretty cut off from the world!

April Showers

Wow, is it April already? March just seemed to go by in a blur!! I had intended to get back to blogging like I was, however there were just a number of things happen post post that had me bitter or negative (holiday plans, work, school, you name it) and I was afraid any minor post would turn into a big tirade. So now that most of that has blown over, here I am ;)

We enjoyed our first Easter in our own home this year and that was wonderful. It was soo much fun hiding eggs and being able to put them where ever I pleased. It was nice to be able to go to our own church and then come home and actually relax. Previous years we've travelled and that side of the family insists on throwing a big (although rapidly shrinking) party at the location we're staying so there's no time to rest and usually we end up helping out. Instead I threw a turkey in the oven and sat back all day and had one of our groomsmen's families come over for the afternoon. We offered turkey but they had their eye on a 'big city' restaurant supper and I don't blame them. I know I enjoy restaurants that we don't have around here when I travel as well. So...we had a quiet turkey dinner that was scrumptious, did the bare minimal clean up and laid back and relaxed. Woot!

Stitching wise I've been working on Bent Creek's Easter Snapper. Back at Christmas I'd been aiming for it to be up in the house before the holiday however our discussion on where we were spending our holidays went in someone's ear and out the other and this lead to another back and forth argument and really killed any interest in the 'festive' part of the holiday. Thankfully things worked out in the end, the 'party' was moved to a date and time we couldn't attend and the second I had word of that I pulled the project out, knowing it wouldn't be finished but it was still fun to work on that weekend. Sadly there's been an attack of the frog that's set back progress a bit :(

Other things keeping us busy have been Alex's big swim up to Cubs and a bunch of home improvement projects. We've been a little stir crazy with the amount of snow still on the ground and that's been a big motivator in fixing some things in the house. First off is our lack of an air exchanger. When we bought the house we knew we needed to put a new one in (the old broken one wasn't even in the house) so you can imagine my shock when I'm minding my own business looking at mirros and Matt flies through the isle looking for the car keys because he's got a whole new system by the door of the store. Matt also go the light over my kitchen sink replaced, why on earth the original owners put in a florescent that hung down under the canopy is beyond me.
So that left the three lights in the kitchen/dining area as the last of the original 'yuck' light fixtures and miraculously...Canadian Tire had the replacement set I'd been eyeing on sale. So installation of the new Venmar started Saturday, however as with all home improvement projects it didn't go as planned, eventhough we bought the same system the piping and vents had become bigger so again to CT to buy a reciprocating saw to cut through some floor boards and the exterior of the house...so sadly no light installation this past weekend. Instead I have a new control panel hooked up that is smaller than the old one...so the hall could use some paint, and my basement looks like something out of funhouse with all the things hanging not yet hooked up to the system. On the bright side, the china cabinet had to be moved to install the new vent which then made it possible to center. I've been wanting to hand a picture over it (Bent Creek's Wedding Row) but never felt it was worth taking all of the crystal and stuff out to move it, and it would look odd without the china cabinet centered.

So as you can see, this hasn't left much time for blogging. Although April is looking like a more 'open' month than March with only a girlie road trip to look forward to ;)
Until next time...