Happy Holidays to All !

Another year gone by...

I haven't had much time for posting, it seems the older I get the more I procrastinate. My 56th birthday (how the heck did that happen) was Dec. 22nd, so I have good reason to feel old, especially when the body feels it, my mind still feels so young. I wish they could meet in the middle somewhere :) Dec. 17th was my last day of work. When I retired Oct. 31, 2003 I never thought I would go back, Never say Never ! I was asked back in May of 2006 to help cover holidays as they had someone on short term. I've been saying for a long time now that I was going to quit, and it was like perfect timing. I go in to give my notice and get laughed at, yes my manger laughed, he was going to let me go. The department needed to cut back and being casual, I was the first to go, along with another casual employee. Luckily nobody permanent is losing their job. I will definitely miss the extra money, but my Mom needs me at home more now and I don't want any regrets later on.

It's been a busy week, doctor appointments for us both, hair appointments for us both, manicure for myself, last minute shopping, still have the wrapping to do. I remember this time last year we were snowed in, I thought I wasn't going to be able to drive to my Brothers for Christmas Dinner, but thankfully we made it okay. Today the sun is shinning, ground is dry and the kids are wondering how Santa is going to get here without snow. He is just as magical as the reindeers that bring him :)

I was wanting to show some of my stitching, but have misplaced my camera. I've been working on various projects trying to get at least one finished this year. I may, but it won't be in time for Christmas.

All the best to you and your family and thanks for dropping by to read my blog.

Virtual Stitching

http://kcaiholidaycard.com/

We went to Trout Lake today and I took my camera along.

Tiger tries to dig up a rock and can't understand why it's not happening.

Then decides she needs to see what that sign is all about.

Gets all the way up to it, maybe she needs glasses :)

Oh ! That's why Mama said don't go out there, better get back to her now.

We then go for a walk around the lake and what do we see at the other end but some "idiot" with his child, even if he can't read he should have known better. There were some city workers there that told him it was very thin ice and to get off, thankfully he listened.

PS If you click on the pictures they look much better.

Snowman has Arrived

I participated in an ornament exchange in one of my yahoo groups and today this is what I received from Julie. Isn't he just the cutest snowman you've ever seen, I think he is.

Thanks Julie, I just love him.

Frost and Ice

In a matter of days we have gone from torrential downpours to frosty mornings and icy roads. If we have to have a winter these are the days I prefer. They may be cold but they are clear and you can see how nice the mountains look. There's a picture in my header that I took a few days ago. I was surprised to see Trout Lake was frozen, guessing the city didn't expect it either as there were no warning signs up about staying off the ice.

I wasn't feeling well for a few days, eating too much chocolate and goodies, I think. I really shouldn't bring any into the house, but how can one resist buying them when that's the first thing you see walking into a store. I tell you I have NO willpower whatsoever.

I don't have any new stitching to show, been playing with my stash and wondering when and how I'm going to stitch it all when I'm still buying more :) We can all relate to that, can't we. Also need to get my WIP's into order and work on them before they sit around for another year.

Off to make myelf some hot chocolate and watch Midsommer Murders, you know I wouldn't mind living in a small town like that, except there's always a murder or two every week *LOL*

Exchange Sent is Received

Reindeer by The Workbasket

18 ct. oatmeal

DMC

I was in an ornament exchange with one of my yahoo groups. This is what Terri (no blog) received today from me. I'm going to start stalking the mail, mine should be here by now.

Friday Finishes on a Sunday

JCS Christmas Ornaments 2002

32ct Cream Linen

DMC

Le biscornu de Noel 2009

28 ct. white evenweave

DMC

If you go here you will find many more lovely biscornu patterns. I just want to stitch them all :)

EDITED: oops ! I did the biscornu trees in Sassy Strings by Sassy's Fabby

Blue Noel

Design from Non Conventional Scrap

28ct. white evenweave

DMC CV 4230 and 4240

Detour Ahead

Since it wasn't raining today Tiger and I decided to go to Trout Lake. These pictures say it all.

Boom and Water is Hot !

I couldn't get the pilot to light this morning so my brother's SIL came over, he needed to put a few things back as they should be. He kept trying and then BOOM a small explosion and he got it going. We are assuming there was an air blockage or something like that and once it cleared, scaring the sh*t out of us both, it worked. I now just need to keep an eye on the temporary sump pump. It's raining today and the forecast is rain for the next week.

I'm off to plop myself down in front of the TV and see if I can finish sewing a couple of things together. If I succeed there will be a show and tell soon.

I Give Up !

Not only do we have no hot water, it seems our basement flooded. We don't use our basement it's only there because we live on a hill and so needed to put it in, it's partial, cement floor and used mainly for storage. When I went down on Thursday to check about the hot water tank, the pan beneath was full of water. The rug at the bottom of the stairs was soaked, so I checked to make sure the drainage outside the door into the stairwell was clear and it was. My conclusion was that the tank had a leak and the way things are set out the rug could have been effected. Thankfully for some unknown reason my Mom decides to go down there today and the stairwell drainage is clogged or so we thought. After a long day of looking into things this is what happened.... The sump pump stopped working, basement flooded high enough to distinguish the pilot light on hot water tank, sump pump decided to work again and cement floor dried up, then stopped working but since it has also stopped raining there is not enough water in stairwell to flood basement. My brother who normally would look after this is away so his son in law was kind enough to come over and help out. We have a temporary pump going, stairwell now has no water, but we cannot get the pilot light on the hot water tank to work. He can get it on but it will not stay on, so we are hoping it needs to dry up some more. I will give it a try tomorrow morning and if not we will need to call in a repairman. The tank is 4 years old and under warranty so hopefully it won't cost much to fix. The sump pump has failed before and our basement has flooded, but never to the point of damaging anything.

As bad as this is for us, I miss my hot shower :) I know that others have it much worse because of the storms we have been having. Some use their basements for family rooms and if they flood so does all their carpeting and furniture, some have been without power for days, which means their food is going to waste and that could cost a small fortune.

It hasn't rained today so maybe this is the end of it, I sure hope so.

PS: Spoke too soon, not only is it raining this evening, there is lighting and thunder.

Rain, Rain and More Rain !

We have been having quit the storm here. We have had one day without rain in a week, it happened to be the day I worked. Some areas on Vancouver Island are being declared a state of emergency with all the flooding. Wind storms are also causing damage. I've been pretty lucky, no flooding, no power failures and then this morning I go to have a shower and there's no hot water. Our tank is gone.

I went for the H1N1 and seasonal flu shots yesterday. My Doctor had two students doing the shots and happened to mention that in the UK it's only the students who give shots. Taking my Mom to her Doctor this afternoon for her shots and then I guess it will be off to see about getting the water tank fixed/replaced.

I finished my exchange ornament and got it in the mail, hope my partner likes it. I'm working on a biscornu that I think will turn out to be pretty big. I always like to stitch a co-ordinating back, but can't think of what to do for this one, it's on white with 4 Christmas trees, so I was thinking of green tea dyeing fabric for the back. I'm hoping to get this done today.

11 out of 15

We are at the halfway point of NaBloPoMo and I'm short 4 posts, or you could say I posted a lot this month :) The glass is either half full or half empty, depends on which way you look at it.
Yesterday I took advantage of Michael's 4 hour sale (9-1) of 20% off everything including sale items. I picked up a "few" floss I needed and some needles. I was disappointed as earlier in the week I was at Michael's North Van store and they had a Nutcracker that I would like, only for the sale I went to the Burnaby store and they didn't have any. Guess it wasn't meant to be. Today was a dark and rainy day never letting up. Hopefully it will rain itself out before tomorrow.

Friday the 13th

Today I got up early as I had a specialists appointment downtown at 10:30. First time I met this doctor and he is really nice and very young, but that could be my age showing :) My Mom is always saying how young the doctors are these days and I just tell her at her age (83) of course they are young ;) So far everything is fine, need to go for a test Jan. 28th, but I'm sure the results will be okay. From there I was going to go to the annual craft fair at the Pan Pacific. Long time since I have been to that part of town and took a wrong turn and ended up going over the Lions Gate Bridge into West Vancouver. Oh well probably saved myself some unnecessary spending. There will be lots more community craft fairs around that I will have no problem getting to. I spent the rest of the day working on my exchange ornament and got it finished, am now stitching it together, so will get it in the mail on time. It's going to be hard to part with as I really like how it looks.

The weather forecast was wrong, no rain today. To make up for that they are calling for rain tonight. I really wish they could get it right. Anyways Tiger and I went to Trout Lake and I took some random shots of the trees. These are on the other side from where the flooding is. As you can see the sky was mostly clear and sunny, nice day for a walk.

I'm stitching on an exchange right now, so have nothing to show. It is to be mailed by the 20th and the stitching is not going as fast as I thought it would. I'm sure I will get it done on time, but feel the pressure.

Too Much Rain

We have had so much rain over the last few days that the banks of Trout Lake flooded, as they do every year. If you use the walkway closest you need to keep your dog on a leash or they get wet and muddy. I was pretty lucky today as Tiger headed towards the puddles I told her no and she actually listed :) We enjoyed the dry somewhat sunny day, there is more rain called for tonight and the rest of the week.

Lest We Forget

Stitching Question

Yesterday was a full day of visiting relatives and going out for lunch that I didn't have time to post. Today I was organizing my WIP and can't believe how many I have, we'll cover that another day.

So I've decided to put this question out there. Do you have a color of floss that you do not like stitching with ? I do, it's white ! I find it doesn't cover as well as other colors. I used to use one strand folded so there would be that loop to anchor the first stitch, well I started using two (no loop) and believe it or not the coverage (with all colors) is much better. With the white I've tried completing each stitch as I go and that seems to work well too.

Look forward to hearing if there are any you don't like.

Give Thanks

The Stitcherhood

14 ct. Grey Adia DMC 3777

Heart on back is from Lady Quaker

Another rainy day here in Burnaby. I sometimes feel that I am not the best "Pet Parent" around. I see others walking their dogs in the rain, some dogs have coats some don't. Me I take advantage of it and stay in. Tiger does have a fair size yard if she really wanted to run around in the rain, but she doesn't. So other than going to the store to pick up a couple of things, Tiger will go for the ride, and then it will be a couch day of stitching.

Friday Flop

Well I awoke this morning to pounding rain, throughout the day it would stop only to start up again. It was a good day to stay in and stitch, which I did. Yesterday I came across a nice little pattern and finished it today and when I went to take pictures the camera wouldn't co-operate. I'm charging the battery now and tomorrow we'll see if I can get it to work.

Fall Hocus Pocus !

Well I missed a day of blogging. By the time I got home from work and wound down it was too late. Today was not looking good either, but here are 3 things I've stitched in the last little while. I can't remember where the fob came from so if you know, please tell me so I can give credit where it is due.

18ct oatmeal with DMC

Lizze Kate

14ct Lemon Twist by Sassy's Fabbys

with DMC

Helga Mandl design from TGOS September issue

14 ct. oatmeal with DMC

I'm off now to lay my splitting headache of a head down for an hour before I need to go out.