blogroll explanation

Just to explain the very incomplete blogroll now in my sidebar … I actually follow blogs from my bloglines account and haven’t used my blogrolling account in ages. However, it’s come to my attention that my blog has been taking a lot of traffic from an unsavory source and I’ve installed a site meter that I hope will alert me when this activity occurs again. I needed to use my blogrolling account to embed the site meter (which I really hope I’ve done correctly, LOL) and that is the only reason it’s there.

Anyway, if you do not see your blog name on the list in the sidebar, never fear. You are on my bloglines list, which only I can see.

when people are wonderful

My Mother’s Day began wonderfully - and has continued in that same vein all day. Rowen and Nicky gave me strict instructions at breakfast time that I was not to do any work other than “sewing and putering”. Niek surprised me with a huge bouquet of flowers, the kids had all made gifts (Max’s included some stitching, which I will share in a future post), and Niek gave me a memory card for my camera. Hooray!

After a leisurely morning and early afternoon, we went for a walk in the Reeuwikjse Bos after the worst heat of the day had passed. It was a scorcher today! We limited our walk to just over an hour, as the kids and dog were sort of sagging from the heat, but it was nice to get out. I saw wild geese, swans, and ducks with ducklings. And four really cute kids. 

I haven’t done too much stitching for the past couple of days - I did mention that it had been hot, right? I don’t like stitching with sweaty hands, especially when it’s a project that can’t be washed. However, Thine Forever is slowly coming along, as you can see here.

I finally had the chance to call ABC Stitch Therapy, where I had a small store credit, and ask about having that pesky skein of NPI 584 sent to me in a regular letter envelope instead of paying $10 or so for international shipping … and not only did they agree, but they’ve already sent it! Thank you Marie, and the rest of the great staff there at ABC Stitch Therapy! I’m relieved that I’ll be able to finish this design in the charted colors.

And to acknowledge more wonderful people, thank you for sharing your online fabric buying tips with Sara! I just love how everyone is so helpful and generous with each other.

I hope everyone is either having a wonderful Mother’s Day or making your own mom’s Mother’s Day memorable, or a bit of both. I’ve spoken with my Mom and we enjoyed an imaginary trip to Bangor, a luncheon at The Olive Garden, and a long browse at Borders, finishing up with a cup of hot, flavored cofffee before undertaking the long drive back Downeast.

Here’s Arden, showing us how to keep cool in the heat.

share your experience

Hi everyone! Not much to say or to share as I’ve been soaking up every moment of sunshine that I can … one never knows how long it may last. And when I’ve not been out in the sun, expanding my collection of freckles, I’ve had my nose deeply immersed in Voyager. Yay! Claire made it back! I’m so happy!

But it’s a serious matter that brings me out of my novel this evening: My friend Sara (in the US) is looking for a reliable ONS where she can place a fabric order. My own experiences, before going on the wagon, were not much to go by, so I’m asking you where’s the best place to order linen online and actually get what you ordered and within a reasonable time frame? Thanks!!

To reward you for your efforts, I can show off Dutch Beast! It arrived in today’s mail, so Tracy surely tied it to a rocket! The reading material that goes with it is fascinating - for a taste of it, go check out the website. I’m actually thinking of ordering the VC silks to do this in … I could claim it as a birthday gift or a Mother’s day gift, couldn’t I? ;0

And lastly, a peek at a new project, just to show I’ve done a little bit of stitching now and then between the sun rays.