fun, fun, fun even if there is no sun

It’s ironic that we had such glorious weather right up until the kids’ school vacation started. LOL. But we’re happy little critters anyway – lots of fun stuff to learn about the beautiful state of Maine! Here’s a little collage of today’s good times.

 

Today is also special because my biological father and his wife are celebrating their third wedding anniversary! Dear Jim and Gaby, I hope your day is special from start to finish!! Thinking of you, as always, with LOTS of love!! Your anniversary gift, I fear, will be late. :0

And finally, Mom’s slated for release from the hospital today. She’s far from her usual confident self, but hopefully once she’s home, she’ll feel more like herself and will start making great gains. I cannot thank you all enough for your wonderfully supportive and encouraging comments. Thank you!!

If you have a few moments, do head over to the super-cool Needleprint blog and check out. Not only are there tons of cool articles, but also some droolworthy freebies!

And now … back to some RR stitching. I hope your week is going great!

retail therapy, frogs, and … the 3 r’s?

Uh oh. Yesterday found me burning up my PayPal balance in fine style. First off, I found out that Kathy Barrick-Dieter now has an etsy shop and is selling some of her old/OOP designs. That was dangerous – four of them leapt into my basket. And then I followed the other etsy shops that heart her and bought four more older designs by Hands To Work at the irresistible price of $3 each. And then Mary Kathryn had a 4-for-3 sale at her webshop and I got four charts from The Gathering Place as well as the Polly Mumford re-release from The Goode Huswife. Hmm. A baker’s dozen. That’s not unreasonable, right? I mean, I have oodles of time for stitching. I’ll just give up sleeping entirely. I’ve already given up housework. LOL!

Don’t tell Niek, please! I’ve been doing really well till now. Oops! But just ask me if I’m actually sorry – I’m afraid the answer would be a resounding “no”! Now to start stalking the mailman.

I stitched a little bit, too. I have to, as our RR mail date is rushing up on me. I started on Saturday night, got to the end of the row, and realized I was off by one stitch. Argh!! Frogging ensued and I started stitching again on Sunday. Progress was slow, as my computer kept whispering suggestively to me about ONS sites. Never fear, RR-mates, it will go out on time!

Today is the first day of the kids’ May vacation, so we’re busy learning about Maine. As long-time readers of my blog know, I like to dabble in a little light homeschooling when the kids have school vacations and since we are going to Maine this summer (hip, hip, hooray!), I thought we’d plunge right into learning a little bit about the state. I’ve been busily preparing lesson plans and printing off activity sheets & coloring pages. Maybe I’ll learn something, too! Actually, I have been trying to learn a bit, too, and have recently begun re-reading the Bible. It’s kind of difficult being a spiritual person who is not religious. I can’t find a group around here that appeals to me, so I decided to just strike out on my own.

And now … I hear the school bell ringing! Time to go. Wishing you a wonderful week!!

is the grass growing?

Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes and the grass grows by itself. (Zen proverb)

I’ve had a couple of “those kind” of days, where I don’t seem to get a thing done and whenever I start to think about what needs to be done, I come over all panicky. My Mom’s recovery isn’t going too well – her heart has gone into A-Fib and she’s been totally taken aback by the pain she’s in. On the phone, she sounds very discouraged and I have a hard time knowing what to say. I rattle on about the kids, hoping it’ll give her something positive to hang on to. There’s been other stuff, too, but it’ll pass. Right?

Fortunately, there’ve also been some really good things as well. Cathy B surprised me with a Goode Huswife chart she knew I was looking for – Cathy, you’re just so sweet to me! Thanks so much. I hope to start this very soon, as it’s one I’ve wanted for a very long time. And I won Sharon’s recent blogiversary give-away! WOW! There were so many entries that I really didn’t think I stood a chance. Sharon, I hope you’ll be blogging forever! I also finished my BBD Red Sampler and am just tickled pink with it. It will be a gift for a friend, so I can’t show the whole thing, but here’s a little peek. Even though I stand no chance of winning the BBD competition (wow, there have been some utterly stupendous entries!), I’m happy knowing that the friend it’s intended for will like it.

The sun has been out and the weather’s been great. I enjoyed a bit of biking with Max before he left for England (I miss him!). And our apple tree is in full bloom. Here are pictures of the kids hamming it up by the house after a family walk with the dogs. LOL.

I hope you’re enjoying a wonderful weekend. Thanks so much for sharing a bit of it with me!

so far, so good

My Mom’s surgery went well, though it was postponed till late yesterday afternoon (instead of first thing in the morning). Today she’s in a lot of pain, but the doctor has told her that today and tomorrow will be the worst of it, and then it’ll be a gradual improvement.

And we made it to the US Consulate & back today to renew Max and Rowen’s passports. Had a bit of a scare when Max’s father didn’t show up on time (both biological parents are required, thanks to tighter security) but he made it eventually and everything else went off without a hitch. Next year, it’s just me that needs a renewal. So far, they aren’t asking for my biological parents to attend. LOL.

Very, very little stitching has been done lately. I’m still working on the BBD freebie and am really enjoying that. Here’s my last picture before it’s personalized (it’s a gift, though I hope to make one for myself someday!). I took these photos outside this evening and the light was nearly gone – the linen in celery and natural, although it looks more beige in the pics.

fingers crossed, thoughts positive

My Mom’s surgery has been moved up to today (instead of tomorrow). Please send some positive thoughts her way.

… More later…

fun with Conny

After a missed appointment a couple of weeks ago (due to illness, of course!), I was pretty eager to go visit my friend Conny yesterday. She graciously allowed me to bring both Max and Arden (as Niek is busy with Scouting activies all day on Saturday and can *only* care for Nick and Rowen), so the three of us set off with high hearts on a gloriously sunny day.

Arriving at Conny’s house, a few gifts were exchanged while Max enjoyed a plate of donuts that was especially for him as Conny can’t eat them and I’m sticking to my healthy eating habits.

Conny surprised us with this gorgeously stitched and finished Danish Handwerk designs by Gerda Bengtsson, stitched with Fremme floss and filled with lavender. It smells heavenly, and a soon as I got home, I hung it up on my Wall of Fame! She also had a sweet assortment of Easter gifts for the kids (as I was originally supposed to arrive before Easter) and a beautiful cut of linen with coordinating ribbons for me.

After a delicious & healthy lunch, we set off on foot to the local shopping area and had a lot of fun rummaging through dollar shops (where I made a few excellent purchases of Plane Distractions Items for our upcoming trip home). Conny insisted on purchasing a couple 0f kids’ cross stitch kits – one for Max to do himself, and one of princesses for me to make for Rowen. So guess what? Another new start! They’re small, so hopefully I’ll finish soon. With Rowen’s pressure, actually, I’m sure I’ll finish soon! LOL! Naturally, all that shopping made us thirsty, so while the boys and Conny waited in a sunny (if rather windy) park-like area, I ran off for drinks. Here are their happy faces.

The day went altogether too fast, and before I knew it, it was past the time I was supposed to head home. Luckily, Niek had held off on starting dinner so I wasn’t the cause of burnt evening meal. I was, however, the cause of a rather big family gaffe- I’d written the date down wrong for Niek’s Oma’s birthday celebration, which was actually yesterday rather than today. An apologetic phone call to Oma soon had everything set straight, and we’ll celebrate with her in a couple of weeks.

The sun is out again today and if it’s possible, today is even more gorgeous than yesterday. We’ll probably bundle the dogs and kids into the car again and head out for a long walk in the woods. I hope that whatever your day brings, it makes you happy!

a boatload of starts

Thank you so much for your enthusiastic, supportive comments about our upcoming trip to Maine. I am just so excited! It feels like it’s been an eternity since I’ve been home, although in reality it’s ‘only’ been three years. I can hardly wait.

did they happen two-by-two?

I usually manage to avoid startitis. That said, I seem to have come down with at least a mild case recently – I started Mary Garry’s Spring Cookies(not yet finished), began my PS exchange piece (about half done), got side-tracked by a bunch of Easter bunnies (all done), tried to work on my NRR but couldn’t find it (I am not freaking out over that, really), worked a little bit on my ES Spot Sampler, started a bookmark for the Nordic Needle literacy drive, and nearly immediately got distracted by the utterly fabulous Red Sampler freebie from BBD. And what started it all? Well, Noah, of course! Remember my visit with Annemarie, and how although I didn’t stitch much that day, I did come home and make a good start on it? Well, guess what hasn’t been touched since then! Oops. But don’t worry, it will get some attention. Soon. LOL. As it is SAL night, here’s my progress picture.

And since I was talking about the bookmark, here that is (Barbara Ana design). I must finish this up in time for the rapidly-approaching deadline. I was stitching it entirely from orts until I realized that I don’t really have much in the way of orts. So the color scheme is sort of … unplanned. LOL.

Oh, and this is my love-of-the-moment. Isn’t it scrumptious? I’m stitching it on some 28 ct Graziano celery/natural linen that I traded Karen for awhile back, and am using HDF silks Black Iris Bloom, Everlasting, and Dried Roses (all from the Examplar series, which I love).

As soon as I get my current projects done (LOL!) I have lots of great new ones awaiting me. Riona recently sent me two patterns as a blog giveaway (and I can’t wait to start on the Brightneedle one!), and Monique just knocked me for a loop when her package of four My Mark designs arrived. I won a giveaway on her blog, and hoped that maybe she’d send me one … but four?! WOW!

I haven’t stitched much at all – the four free days around Easter were filled with outdoor activities (heavenly weather!) and prior to Easter, I was out-straight with bunnies. This week has been rather consumed by activities related to our upcoming Maine trip (yay!!). Though we won’t be leaving for months yet, some things need immediate attention – notably, our passports. Ugh. Go see Chiloe’s story about how awful this is to arrange when you’re not in your native country. Oh, and I got my hair cut today. It’s a short, layered bob that I hope avoids being frumpy while looking a tad more “put together” than the way I’ve had my hair for some time.

And  now, back to stitching – the elves have done the housework!
Wishing you well!!

i’m going home!

Yay! Niek just got the tickets confirmed this morning: Chateau Chaos will be heading home to Maine for three weeks at the end of the summer! I can hardly wait! I’ve been pinching myself ever since he called, just to make sure I’m not dreaming. And honestly, it’s hard to say who is most excited: myself, the kids, or my parents! 

It’s not really clear to a lot of people why I persist in loving Maine so much. Sometimes it’s not really clear to me, either. LOL. I guess strong emotions are that way, though – very difficult to put into words. I browsed the Net this morning and collected a few images of “my” Maine for you to enjoy. A lot of these are of Machias itself, where I grew up.

 

And oh goodness, but what a lot needs to be done now to get ready! Number one: Passports need renewing! Number two: I’ll fill up the kids’ upcoming May holiday by learning about Washington County, the part of Maine that I call home.  Number three: Either find a memory card that actually works in my camera or … gulp, get another camera. Mine’s on its last legs anyway.  Naturally, I’d also like to lose 40 pounds before everyone sees me again, too, but that may be out of reach.  It’s clear the time will fly between now and then!

fun in the sun

The weather forecast called for some fairly awful weather today, so when we woke up to sunshine we quickly decided to spend the morning at a local ‘wood’ that allows for leash-free dog & family fun. I hope your day has been as glorious!

rejoicing

Chateau Chaos was filled with joy (as well as chocolate and eggs) today. Hoping your day was also wonderful.