It's beginning to look......

..... a lot like Christmas. I have spent the last two days decorating for Christmas. Our children and grandchildren will be here this weekend and we will celebrate Christmas/Thanksgiving on Sunday.

And so we have ( Warning - Photo intensive!!!)

1. a decorated Christmas tree full of nutcracker and other special ornaments and under the tree the Nativity that Leo brought back from his tour in Israel



2. Nutcrackers on the end table



3. Nutcracker music box on the sofa table - beside my stitching



4. Nutcracker mat on the dining table


5. Nutcrackers on the beam across the room


6. Nutcrackers at the door


7. Nutcracker placemats on the sun room table


8. Nutcrackers in front of the TV and a nutcracker in my cabinet of Swarovski collectibles


9. Nutcrackers on the fridge in front of the hunting cabin made by my dad



10. Nutcracker quilt on the rocking chair


11. Nutcracker dishes in the kitchen


12. Nutcrackers and whirlygigs (right one is nutcrackers) on the chest


13. Nutcrackers on the floor

14. Christmas Hat on the giraffe (Leo's trip to Kenya) and snowmen on the chairs


15. and last but not least, the travelling tree - this tree holds ornaments purchased on our travels including Elvis in his gold lame suit!


And there was time to stitch.

I finished this Stitcher's Sampler and then made it into a pillow.

Sophia's RR arrived in my mailbox.

She has selected the Pixies from Mirabilia. I have never seen anyone so organized. She has it all laid out, including the patterns and sections she would like us to pick from. She will stitch those not selected when she gets it back. I chose Violet

and am making good progress.

And Santa came to visit - in the name of Patti of Tapestry of Dreams. I won her blogaversary and look at the wonderful stash that arrived in my mailbox today.

HO HO HO.

Take care one and all and Merry Christmas!

A mix of things

First, I would like to thank each and every one of you who commented on my last post and the personal emails and lovely notes that I received. You have made me cry with your kindness and healing words. It was difficult to share my personal story and I am relieved that you received it favorably.
I have been doing handwork these past couple of weeks and so I will share with you some finishes. I have done a few happy dances.

I finished this flamingo wall hanging that I started a couple of years ago and it was sold before I even had the binding sewn on. It was originally for myself and by the time I got it finished I was interested in something else.


I sandwiched, tied and bound 3 quilts for the Linus project. The organization keeps quilts in police cars for victims. The two baby ones are made with scrap flannel I had around and the youth quilt was made from scrap fabric that someone gave me.


I completed this Swedish weave afghan for a wedding that we will be going to on October 3rd.



Oh, and I have been stitching - this is from the World of Stitching magazine and will be a gift. The recipient doesn't read my blog. I hope to have this completed in the next week or so.

We had some guests for dinner this past week and we had fresh pickerel (walleye). I decided to decorate around the fish theme and I thought you would appreciate this photo of our dining table. That is a muskie in the center of the table, fishing rods leaning in the corner, lures hanging off my valances, a pike hanging on the wall and a souwester on the giraffe. They were all donated by friends. I also added a close up so you can see the seashells, the napkins with the yellow duckies and the pictures for the guests to color between dinner and dessert.

These were all mature adults and they colored like small children. It was great fun to listen to them as they discussed and traded colors and laid out their designs. I kept the colored photos and am trying to come up with some way to make a souvenir out of them. Any suggestions?

Well, Thanksgiving and Christmas are creeping up on me very quickly. We will celebrate Christmas with the tree and all the trimmings as we won't be home for Christmas this year. I will try and include a couple of photos after I get it all decorated.

Till next time, take care all. And again, thank you so much for your kindness.

Keep on stitching.

Some Good News?

Ok folks here it is - why I have been having a hard time.

This is a bit of a story.

My first husband died in 1978 of Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 2A. It is a cancer of the endocrine glands. I was 8 months pregnant with our first child when he was diagnosed in 1973 and required surgery. He died at 26 after having been struck again twice after that. I was 25 and my two sons were 2 and 4. Since that time we have learned that the disease is hereditary. My husband's two sisters, his brother, his cousins have all had some form of this cancer and have had multiple surgeries. They have all survived. My husband was diagnosed too late to save and too early for the knowledge they have now.
My oldest son had his thyroid removed and one adrenal gland due to this cancer. My youngest son had his thyroid removed. My granddaughter has inherited the gene and has had her thyroid removed. My two grandsons did not inherit the gene.
About a month ago my oldest son's testing came back that there was something not right. We have been on pins and needles while we waited for further testing. The results came back today.
He has a tumor on his second adrenal gland but it is so small that immediate surgery is not required. He has another appointment in March at which time they will redo the testing and decide what is the next step.
I have been worried sick about my son. It has also brought back a lot of difficult memories as I struggled to deal with the illnesses and eventual death of my first husband. I know, first hand, that things don't always turn out they way you want them too.
My family, my BFF Beatrice and others have done all they could to help me through this.
My second husband, who I dearly love, has suffered through this with me. He has had to deal with my tears, my temper and my ever changing moods as I struggled through this. He has been a father to my children since they were 5 and 7 and he loves my sons as much as I do.
And so, we are relieved that things are ok and we wait for the spring and what happens then.
In the meantime, life will go on. We will celebrate Thanksgiving/Christmas with our family, pack up and head to Arizona for the winter and go from there.

How many in one day? - 3 to be exact!

Hello one and all. Another week has flown by and how many in one day?

3 to be exact!! My mother turned 75 on September 12. My parents were married on her birthday and celebrated 58 years
and my sister married the same date and they celebrated 28.

Jeez, that makes for a lot of celebrating in one day. We were 18 for dinner out and birthday cake.

The next day Hunter turned 3. We had 26 for hotdogs and burgers and a pirate theme. It was great fun but now I am tired.

I managed to get a snap of Drew and I together. Her purple is still going strong while mine is fading.

Leo was in Ottawa to see our Jackson start school this week.

It was a great day for him and he could hardly wait but we were a little sad. His babyhood is definitely behind him now. Leo says he got on the bus, didn't wave or even look back. He is so ready for school.


I did not put in a single stitch this week but I have a couple of finishes to show you from the week before.

Here is Baby Shoes Sampler finished and framed.


Here is Charlie's Ark Sampler finished and framed.


I completed 2 Friendship RR hearts.

Here is Carolyn's and Marian's.

Oh, and I fell off the no buying wagon in a big way. Here is my latest purchase!! This is Chatelaine's Desert Landscape Mandala.

I love love love this piece. It so reminds me of Arizona and all I love about it and the desert.

My birthday was in early August but with other issues it just kind of slipped by. I did receive a couple of stitchy birthday gifts that deserve a mention.

From my BFF Beatrice some lovely fall threads and some fabric.


From the SBBC my partner was Ulla from Finland and here are the lovely gifts she sent.


I am busily working away on a Swedish weaving afghan for a wedding on Oct. 3. I started it last Saturday and am about 2/3 done. No stitching until this one is completed. Wish me luck as I want to put this down and stitch but know I can't.
Till next time - stitch for me lol.

When life deals you lemons ....... go purple

This is my hair after a trip to the hairdresser's with my granddaughter on Friday.

We are both now ladies with purple bangs. This is my way of thumbing my nose at a world that is just too cruel sometimes and to bond with my granddaughter. She now thinks I am the coolest grandma anywhere. lol.

This invitation went out several days ago.

Come one, come all
To a stitcher's free for all.

Come early, stay late
I'll meet you by the lake.

Bring your stitching, needle and thread
Out of town, I'll provide the bed.

Saturday we'll have put luck
and please, we don't want duck.

Sunday, I'll do brunch
Believe me, you won't need lunch.

So, write it down, don't delay
mark your calendar for the day.

September 5, 6 and 7
What can I say - Stitcher's Heaven.

A few of my friends took me up on the invitation.

Here we are minus Ann who stayed at home to keep the store open Saturday but came in the evening and then again Sunday.

What a wonderful group they are!! and such fun. There was a great deal of laughter, some stitching and lots of eating. The dessert table was twice the size of the dinner table lol.

We had several new guests this year. A very warm welcome to Donna, Bonnie, Laura, Marj, Trista, Fran and Judy.

A very special visitor came in the name of Judy M. I met Judy a couple of years ago through her blog and this year she came to the retreat from Friday evening to Monday noon. It was so nice to meet her in person. I have made a great new friend.

She has been named "New Judy" as she is the third Judy in our stitching crowd.

Dani and Christin stayed for the weekend as well. Dani played "Dish Fairy" with New Judy's able assistance. She also played taxi service for a trip to Knowledge and Needles and grocery shopper for those things we ran out of.

Christin has nominated herself my historian and is busily cataloguing my stash. I was suprised to find I actually had something in my stash that she did not have and she had to raid my stash for thread on Sunday. Believe me - that is not easy.
There were a couple of people checking out my stash as she catalogued it.



Donna and I are in the same Friendship Sampler RR and she was able to hand Carolyn's piece off to me in person.

My house and yard were fill. There were stitchers at the patio table,

on the swing, at the firepit table, on the lawn, (well Barb's taking pictures) in the Muskoka chairs, (that's Dani)

at the kitchen table, at the sunroom table, on the couch, in the rocking chair and on the floor!!!

We were even treated to a wedding on Sunday. There is a common area next to my home and there was a wedding. Here is the lovely bride and groom on a perfect day
.

For other great photos of the weekend check out Dani's and Fran's blogs.

It was a grand weekend. The weather was perfect and the company was delightful!
Thank you ladies for making my weekend.

On to stitching - I will leave my works till another post but have a couple of things.

The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pattern is ready for a new sister. Please go to www.purplepeacockjill@blogspot.com and enter your name if you are interested.

And --- up for adoption ---- is a Dimensions stocking kit that has been in my stash for a number of years. I have tried to stitch it twice - once on 18 count navy aida and again on 16 count. The ladies have convinced me to pass this poor thing on to someone who will actually finish it. Included for adoption is the chart, charms and the fabric with the tiny amount stitched on it that I actually did. First one to offer to adopt it gets it.



Now I am on the hunt for a new stocking for a guy. Any ideas?