Part 4, done.

Still working away on my houses SAL, finished up the fourth part tonight.

The end of summer

I finished up summer tonight, only fall and winter to go!

Life, I hate when it gets in the way!

June?  I haven't posted since June?  Wow.

And now I have no idea where to start.  I guess I start with family.  Everyone is chugging along, no one is sick at the moment or fighting some terrible illness/disease for which I am truly thankful.  At 35 I am truly blessed to still have all of my grandparents here with me (which reminds me I needed to call my grandma today).

My boys are great, growing up before my eyes.  Cameron is almost as tall as me!  The husband is good, been moose hunting and now gearing up for deer.  He has been working lots of extra time but still liking his new position at work.

And on to friends...our friends from the UK have immigrated, at the end of Sept they arrived and since then they have purchase a vehicle, Frank has found work and Siobhan has an interview today!  We have slipped into new routines and are enjoying having them with us.

This summer we (mostly my husband) spearheaded the installation of new playground equipment in the municipal park.  It has been a wonderful addition and we have met some great new friends in the community.  Now we are working on some fundraising ideas to purchase more equipment for spring as well as getting a half basketball court installed.  The first one is on Nov 2nd and we are hosting a Pampered Chef party...should be a fun evening!

And stitching...I am getting some needle and thread time and I'm working away on my four season mandalas SAL as well as my mystery SAL.  Siobhan decided that she really likes some pieces and has decide to learn to stitch as well so she has started first project!

So, that is a little update for those that are still following me - I'm sorry to have been away, but life just keeps getting in the way!

My mystery SAL

I always think I have lots done and I'm speedy right along, until the designer sends me this...
SAL 2012 partie 7 - Les grilles de Maryse

I've still got a long way to go!

The current project - and the current time grabber

I signed myself up for a mystery stitching SAL (something I've never done before) after seeing the middle panel which appealed to me as did the fact that it wasn't a requirement that I finish one part before receiving the next and the whole pattern would be shared by the end of the year so if we weren't done, the whole pattern was still ours.  On the above link it shows a whole series of stitchers work - I'm no where close to that!

Here is where I'm at right now...

I'm loving this one and look forward to having it done to hang in my home.

Now for the time grabber...

I have both a coach and player in my home which equals practice twice a week and Saturday games.  Cameron loves it and I think Dad is excited to share his passion for the game as well.  They just texted me, they won today 18 - 0! 

A few of weeks ago my brother was around for the long weekend in May and his girlfriend snapped the following pictures (as well at the two above) which I love...

A little ways to grow....

I always knew they were related...but I think this is great proof.

I hope everyone is well...enjoy the nice weather as much as you can - I'm headed out to weed the vegetable garden now...

Stitchers are so thoughtful!

A fellow sticher Christine has a son attending university at Queen's, in Kingston Ontario where I work.  We have met a couple of times and she contacted me before Easter to see if I would create a little something for her son as he wasn't coming home for the long weekend and drop it off.  I had a blast buying for "three" boys this year and then I added in some good things like apples and granola bars.  Secret Bunny was a success.
This week, a package landed on my desk at work, and I have to be honest, I didn't even look at where it came from, just added it to the "to do pile" that seems to grow overnight.  As I was cleaning my desk off for the weekend last night around 6pm, I came across the envelope again and threw it in my computer bag to bring home.  I just opened it and look what was inside!

Lots of lovely things!  Thank you Christine - you didn't need to send anything but I appreciate it all the same.

It is Saturday afternoon here - we have done the football game for this week already - I got sunburnt out watching.  The third load of laundry for the day is calling for me to hang it on the clothes line so I must run.  Here are the two projects that I've put some time into - not as much as usual and not as much as I would like but life goes one.

I have two parts of  5 (I think, could be more) that have been issued in the SAL I decided to take part in.  I love the design and look forward to having it all done to hang on my wall.  The designer has much more done, you can see that here.

And here is where I am at with "SUMMER"  in the SAL with my group of travelling sisters :-)

Busy times here - a new roof on the cottage, hubby back working shifts, lots to do at work, the oldest in football and of course spring always brings lawns and gardens again is leaving me less and less time to stitch.  Oh well, nice weather means more travelling with my "sisters", which I look forward to each and every year.

Happy Thanksgiving

We had our big meal on Saturday with our friends whom were visiting from Australia, and our immediate family.  We had 15 for dinner.  We had a lot of "FIRSTS" on Saturday for our friends who do not have a Thanksgiving and the price of their turkey just about gave me a heart attack!  Curt bought our turkey for $17.93, it was close to 20 pounds.  Joanna told us she priced a whole turkey once and she would have paid close to $100.00 for the same turkey there and she wasn't willing to risk it not turning out.  So a whole turkey cooked in the garbage can outside was a first.  First time making and eating bread stuffing.  My mother in law made pumpkin pie, another first.  Cranberry sauce was another one. 

It was a wonderful meal with the best company anyone could ask for.

I hope your Thanksgiving was as lovely as ours.

Today we have no plans, at the moment I'm enjoying a tea with my honey, listening to the boys play together - without fighting for the moment.

Rebel

And for anyone who is not on Facebook or did not receive an earlier email from myself or Madame Secretary, I am hosting my annual October stitching weekend next weekend (Oct 15/16).  If you plan to attend or would like more details, you can send me an email. RebelInOnt at gmail dot com

October?

So, as always I find myself working behind the eight ball - always behind and never getting ahead. After the loss of Freddie, and our family working our way back from the loss, both boys ended up down and out with Strep throat. We had the opening night at the theatre (Canadian Brass) which was a fantastic show and now we are gearing up for the next show which is Ailey II. I have been stitching... This is a scan of my "done" Kaleidoscope by Ink Circles! I finished up the backstitching on Friday evening. I didn't have the camera close and I brought it to work so I thought I would just scan it and post it. I'm working away on a couple of other projects that I will show at a later time. I'm hosting a weekend at my house for stitching, and eating, and stitching, and sleeping...October 15 - 16 - 17th. If you are interested in coming, for a day or more, let me know! email : rbrown at cityofkingston dot ca

Going, Going ... GONE!

That seems to be how my time is lately, never here long enough! Summer is in full swing and that creates all new fun at my house! The boys are busy wanting to go here and there and I really want to be taking them - but I also would like a couple of days to create a numb bum in my stitching chair! So I left off my last post that I had a few ladies stitching during the long weekend at the start of July...here is where my Growth Rings were when I slipped them away after the weekend.

And one of the ladies Beth (of no blog - yet) decided that Caleb really had to show her how one of his toys worked...so here they are on the floor together -

and this is how it works Beth -

And my closing shot is the lovely flower that my oldest picked out himself to give his teacher at the end of the year - the sign was my idea :-)

So, I've been working on ICK - I'll try to get a shot soon to show you how far I've come, I have 1/4 left to fill in with colour and it can be added to the "completed" pile.

As for right now, life is busy at work, and at home. Cameron and Caleb just spent the last week with my parents. Cameron got his first taste of day camp which he loved and I've signed him up for another week at the end of August - and between now and then we have our "teenager" as the boys call her living with us. Rhonda is a lifesaver and makes my days go much smoother.

Until next time, stay cool!

Just for Judie M (of no blog)

My friend Judie emailed me the other day to ask if everything was alright because it had been a month since I blogged...yes, everything is alright, just a normal week/month in the life of me...work is crazy, the kids are crazy, I'm crazy, DH is crazy!

I've been so occupied with everyday life that I haven't had a chance to tell anyone about anything! DH started a new position with his employer, so he went from a swing shift to straight days. In the 12+ years we have been together we have only ever done straight days for him a week here and there so this is a new ballgame for all of us. Don't get me wrong, having him home each evening and weekend is great - most of the time. I know he finds it a huge change as there were days during the week before when I was at work, our oldest was at school and he and the little one could get lots of things done around the house or out and about in town. Now he has to try to get everything home related done in the evenings and on the weekends...a learning curve for sure (and cuts into his fishing/hunting/golf time).

Cameron (our oldest) is needing the help of a chiropractor and that has meant three trips a week into Kingston (25 minutes each way) for the last three weeks and that creates a logistical nightmare for Mom. On top of that, our regular babysitter had baby # 5 almost a month ago and the little guy has been very sick so I had to find another sitter for Caleb in a hurry (because DH wasn't home at all during the week now) and get someone lined up for Cameron for after school. It all worked out and now we are set until the end of the school year.

We have been thinking about what we were going to do this summer with both DH and I working straight days and knowing that we could not afford to have both boys at a sitter each and every week day all summer long. So we have acquired a "teenager" as the boys call her to come and spend the majority of the summer with us and stay with the kids while we are at work. This will help us financially and relieve some of the shuffling around stress that summer brings as well as she gets some cash to spend for back to school stuff as she heads off to high school next year.

I have been stitching (I need to relieve stress somehow right?) and I even got away on Mother's Day weekend with Bonnie to Dani's for Friday night thru to Sunday morning. We had a wonderful, relaxing weekend and saw some friends I haven't seen in awhile - Lynn J, Beatrice, Kathy A, Christin and a new friend (with no blog) Lori. I got lots of stitching done before Bonnie and I had to head for home. We went to my parents first, Mom feed us lunch and then Bonnie left me in care of my DH and kids. Bonnie continued on her travels and my family packed up and did a quick trip home to drop our stuff before we went to the inlaws for supper and the evening.

Work is busy....last night we launched our 2010-2011 season information, everything is now listed on the website if you want to take a peek at the wonderful season to come. This of course means lots of work for me, renewals for subscribers, setting up the shows for sales in the ticketing system and on and on and on.

So, I'm here, I'm alive and looking forward to some time off this coming weekend, I do have to work on Saturday but with Sunday and Monday off I might get to sneek some stitching time in.

Until next time, and I will try to update a little more often than once every couple of months.

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures from this past weekend.

Here are the boys with their Poppa Brown learning how to "whistle with grass" which was too funny and my FIL was cracking up at both of them.

And then two photos of the boys in the front yard - I really do need to start taking more pictures of them...

A little white lie...

So on my last post I told a little white lie - just to help keep a secret in place until after Thursday night. See, Ann of Knowledge and Needles was turning a certain age and I was attending her surprise birthday party on Thursday evening and didn't want to ruin the surprise if she read my blog in advance! If you want to get her first hand review, check out her blog entry GOTCHA! It was a wonderful evening and I had a ball of fun...it also meant I got to extend my retreat by an extra night at the Timber House! No cleaning happened on Thursday - my house is still a disaster but I stitched my butt off this weekend and will post the photos as soon as I can. The retreat was as wonderful as it has been twice a year for the last few years. I didn't take a lot of pictures (and no way of adding them at the moment) as we discussed that they all look the same from year to year, just different clothes! So pictures to follow, I had three starts and three finishes this weekend so I really do have some stitching to show!

Update before the big stitch-in!

So this weekend I'm headed off to the Knowledge and Needles - Timberhouse Retreat and I wanted to have a post on here to show where I was at with both pieces - before I head off. And this way everyone can see how far I get this weekend. Up first is IC Kalidoscope....almost to the half way mark. And then IC Growth Rings....and I added in a copy of my pattern, the yellow highlighter is what I accomplised while I was in BC, and the blue is what I have gotten done since I returned home. This will be my last post until after the weekend. I took tomorrow off as well as Friday to be a domestic goddess, no kids at home and hubby is sleeping so I should be able to whirlwind my way around the house! To everyone that is attending as well, drive safe from near and far and I will see you on Friday afternoon! Everyone else - I'll be thinking of you while I'm sitting, stitching and bitching this weekend!

Happy New Year!

As 2009 draws to a close I just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy New Year. Our house is planning on a low key event as always...Dani and Todd are coming from the Ottawa area, we are cooking up a feast fit for an army and then hanging out watching movies and stitching. With the stitching over the next two days Dani and I have stitched together EVERY month this year and have a jump start on 2010 with some stitching tomorrow morning!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Tri-weekly stitching

As miserable as it is out, tonight is my once-every-three-weeks stitching evening at home. So I'm actually skipping out of work a little early and getting home at a decent hour. I might even have a couple of completed projects to show for my extra effort tonight!

Wow - it has been awhile

So life get busy and the first thing to slip seems to be blogging, but then when I get time there seems to be so much to tell everyone that it is overwhelming and I don't know where to start.

So I'll start with November retreat. I had a fabulous time as always and my Mom and I always love going together, it is our new tradition every year. So here are a few photos I took while we were there.

Marie Paul working away...

Debbie ...

Ann, Nan and Dani

Barb and Sheila

And the fireplace was a lovely addition...

And the other exciting news is that I went and picked the wolves up from the framers and they are now proudly hanging in our livingroom. DH has decided that they need more light and plans on installing a pot light above to give them more umph! And yes, my livingroom walls are really that green - LOL!

And I have been stitching on lots of other things as well, my L*K Living with Charm is done, just filling in a couple of spots here and there, my Little Green is almost done and ready to gift to my friend Patti, I re-started the bass for my DH, and I've started the Spirit of Christmas again.

And I almost forgot, I completed this little towel for someone for Christmas...

Hope everyone is gearing up for the holidays, we are just starting to get in the swing of things at our house.

Wednesday Night!

I just realized that I am not working this coming Wednesday...{{heart}} love Remembrance Day so in turn I'm hoping that others are in the same boat and might like to come for the afternoon/supper/evening for some stitching! If so, drop me a line at curt underscore reb at hotmail dot com! Sorry this is so short and sweet, I'm at work and it is VERY crazy at the moment but I wanted to get it out there... p.s. I'll probably make homemade lasagna if that sweetens the pot any!

Late but - What a great weekend we had.

So my last post was about the weekend that was coming up in which I was hosting...it went fabulously...I had a wonderful time and I hope that the friends who made the journey did as well. I have pictures but here is what everyone else had to say about the weekend...and I know some will complain but they are so much better at telling how the weekend was, I spent a lot of time making tea :-) Dani - Long Awaited Stitchy Weekend Christin - Party til you drop Lynn - Friends and Fun Also in attendance were...Beatrice, Barb (no blog), Kathy A, Judi (no blog), Trista, Bonnie and my mother-in-law Bev (no blog) Unfortunately both Beth (no blog) and Ann (of Knowledge and Needles) were taken ill and not able to join us...we missed you both!

And Let the Stitching Begin!

This weekend (starting tonight), I have the best group of stitching friends at my house FOR THE WHOLE WEEKEND to stitch! I can't wait. Other than DH throwing a wrench in things with coming home early from hunting (they got bullwinkle) it should be a fun, stitchy, chatting, eating frenzy kinda weekend! If you are in the area (Kingston-Napanee) send me a quick email for directions (curt underscore reb at hotmail dot com) and stop in for an hour (or more). I have the first of the stitchers arriving around suppertime tonight and then they will be coming off and on all weekend until late afternoon on Sunday. I'll post pictures on Monday probably... HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND - I know I will :-)

What wonders a day will do.

I've been feeling off kilter and frazzled and tired and....but today I feel alive, refreshed and ready to tackle anything! Yesterday was a lovely day spent at Ann's (Knowledge & Needles in Brighton ON) with as many stitching friends (both old and brand new - HI BONNIE!!) as you can fit in one house/garage/LNS! We believe the final count with those that came and went was 28 stitchers! I don't have any pictures, I didn't even take my camera out of my bag but I'm sure sometime in the near future you can see it all on Dani's blog. Thank you Ann, it was just what the doctor ordered. It also re-sparked my drive to get those blasted wolves finished!

Great Weekend...

I had a great weekend.

How's that to start!

Friday night after work, DH and I packed up the boys and headed to my parents in Lansdowne for the night. Saturday we were up bright and early to head to the 145th Lansdowne Fair. I volunteered for the day to work one of the computers for the Masonic Chip Program which was sponsored by the Lansdowne Masons, which my grandfather, father, uncles, cousin and husband are all members. More information about the program can be found here...

My boys spent the whole day Saturday on the midway with my Dad. The three of them were very tired by the end of the day :-)

Sunday morning I packed the kids and the dog back into the car and headed for home. Then I stole my nephew for the afternoon so that I could head to Beth's for some stitching in the afternoon and early evening.

I got to see Beth and Judie (both blog-less), Dani, Christin, Beatrice and Beatrice's Mom-Adrianna!

Beatrice just had a beautiful happy dance so I promised I would get her the red pompoms (inside joke)...