'Luck' Finish and Other Things

Hey there :) Yes, I finished 'Luck' on Sunday. I've got a nifty little frame that I'm going to put it in, then it's going to live in my front room. My first finish of 2007 - hurrah!

I've stitched quite a lot of 'Phoenix' as well...


If I'm honest, I have to say that this is a pig of a design to stitch and on more than one occasion I've been tempted to chuck it in the bin! The problem is that there are huge amounts of fractional stitches and as a consequence, it requires oodles of concentration. Just one slip-up can be disastrous, as I have found to my peril on more than one occasion. Even before I started stitching it, there was the added faff of having to blend the threads beforehand, as 99% of the colours are made up of two DMC colours mixed together. With all of that to contend with, as you can imagine, I've not been filled with the joys of spring when summoning up the courage to tackle it. However, I think I've 'cracked the code' so to speak. I've discovered that if I have a little side project on the go at the same time (like 'Luck for example), it gives me something else to concentrate on when my enthusiasm wanes. Then when I feel suitably enthused, I go back to stitching 'Phoenix' again. I wished I'd stumbled on this little gem before, but better late than never is what I always say.

Talking of side projects, I started this rather lovely design by 'The Cross-Eyed Cricket' yesterday, entitled 'Autumn Acorn'.


The main acorn body is stitched with 'The Thread Gatherer' Silk 'n Colors thread in 'Autumn Honey (SNC069). It's the first time that I've ever used TTG thread - it's a gorgeous thread to stitch with, in terms of both colour and usability - the stitches are very smooth to work, but I guess it goes without saying when it's silk thread. Has anyone else used it before? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts :)

Thank you for taking the time to read my prattles and I hope you have a good week :) xx

Happy Easter!

Hey everybody - I hope this post finds you all in good health on this very good 'Good Friday'. Well, it was great to wake up at 8.30 this morning instead of 6.15 - no work today hurray!

The weather here in Nottingham has been surprisingly very hot and sunny! I decided to grab the opportunity while I could and cut the grass on my back and front lawn, much to the delight of Fudge, who showed his appreciation by rolling around in the fresh grass cuttings. I am now the proud owner of a pale green and fudge coloured cat instead of a white and fudge one. I took some photos of him before he decided to make his fashion statement...


Here he is doing his best 'Chad' impression - 'Wot no fish?' :) I don't know why, but he does this whenever he's on something high. Here he's on the kitchen table, but he also does it when sitting next to me on the sofa, on the window ledge or even on the stair case - if there's a ledge or a drop, he likes nothing better than to hang his head down. My furbaby has a character all his own!


After cutting the grass, I also took the opportunity to do some more stitching on 'Luck'.


It also gave me the perfect excuse to try out my rather wonderful psychadelic new scissors - I saw these on an online shop I've discovered (www.siestaframes.com) and I just had to have them!


I haven't planned anything else apart from my usual badminton playing on Sunday - the rest of my time I shall be stitching for England! Another 3 days of stitching bliss - what a wonderful way to spend a bank holiday weekend :) Oh and I've also just realised that my blog was a year old on 3rd April! My goodness, but doesn't time fly when you're having fun? This blog wouldn't be what it is without your input. Thank you to all of you for making this blog so worthwhile. I have made so many friends through doing this - you all know who you are! And thank you to some new visitors who have taken the trouble to drop by and say 'Hi'. Bless you and thank you again my stitching lovelies!!! xxxxx

Busy, busy, busy......

Hey everyone. Sorry I've not been around for a while - yet again life has got in the way of my stitching ambitions. But so far it's not been a bad month at all, despite the fact that after my last post, I thought it was going to be a bad one.

I became ill after my last post - and the reason was my legs got covered in insect bites...INSECT BITES! I'm still puzzled as to why I even got them in the first place. In the UK at the moment it's not exactly 'Don a sunhat and dollop on the sun/insect repellent cream' weather yet, however, this didn't stop the little blighters from feasting on both my ankles and calves. I had the grand total of 21 insect bites - 12 on my right leg, 9 on my left. Some became infected, so it called for a painful hobble down to the Quack to get some high strength antibiotics. I was worried that I wouldn't be fighting fit in time for the charity walk that I'd signed up to do for the British Heart Foundation, but the antibiotics did the trick and on Sunday 25th March, I completed a 10-mile walk around the countryside surrounding Calke Abbey, situated in a lovely little place called Ticknall, in deepest rural Derbyshire. I started walking for them in 2005, after a good friend of mine, Richard, died of heart failiure just before Christmas in 2003. He was only 29. Since then I've done their annual 'High Peak Challenge' which consists of walking 17.5 miles along the famous High Peak/Tissington Trail in the Peak District, Derbyshire. Here's me, after completing the Calke Abbey walk in just over 3 hours.....


In other news, I've had the last week or so off to decorate my front room. There was much swearing and gnashing of teeth, but I finally completed it yesterday. I looked properly at my handywork for the first time today and I've come to the conclusion that it was all worth it. I even managed to go on a little spending spree in between decorating AND do some stitching.....

I bought some lovely patterns by JBW Designs and as you can see, I went a bit mad - there's 10 all in all! I'm going to re-vamp the cushions on my sofa with some new covers and with a couple of the designs below in the middle of them. I'm going to do 'Pumpkin' and 'Apple' first as they matching my colour scheme perfectly.


...AND..here's the stitching I've been doing. This is the project I was meaning to take with me to the Stitching GTG that's going to happen in June. I just couldn't resist it, so I'll have to find something else! I'm stitching this with a mixture of WDW and Gentle Art threads.


I've also been working on 'Phoenix' today, but 'Blogger' as usual doesn't want to play, so I'll post them later in the week. I think I've rambled enough! Thanks for dropping by and hopefully there won't be such a huge gap in between posts this time. I hope you're all well and I shall be visiting your blogs over the next few days. Lots of love and hugs to you my wonderful stitching friends :) xx

Hold on to your Stitching Frames Everybody......

I've actually done some cross stitch! *Silence whilst everyone steps back in amazement* Yes you can all have a couple of tablets and a lie down to get over the shock in a minute!

'Steady on', I hear you cry - 'this is a stitching blog - you can't have things like STITCHING on here - the very thought of it - I've a good mind to flag it as inappropriate!!' Yes I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to actually talk about stitching on here, but what with one thing or another (Mum being ill, work being a bit topsy-turvy what with getting used to a new boss, a Husband deciding whether he wants to be one or not, with some throwing people around on mats whilst wearing white pyjamas for good measure), my stitching year has got off to rather a bad start, until now.

I've been a busy bee this weekend, or you could say a busy dragonfly........


It's a 'Dragonfly Pin' Kit from Mill Hill that I'd bought from 'Sew and So' a couple of weeks before Christmas. I was going to make it up and give it as a present to one of my relations, but never got round to it. It was such an enjoyable kit to do - I got home from town yesterday at about 1.30pm and by 4pm, I'd finished it!. I haven't added the pin to it yet but I will get round to it. And yes, I've also stitched on 'Phoenix' this afternoon.....


It's not an awful lot, but it's a start! There are lots of half and quarter stitches, so it's something I'm having to concentrate on - no looking at DVDs whilst stitching with this one. I discovered that to my peril this afternoon - I only looked up at the TV once (mind you I was watching 'Van Helsing' - and Hugh Jackman is always worth a look *swoon*) - and before I knew it...'CROOOOAKK!'...I'd frogged two lines!! So with trusty unpicker in hand, and lots of swearing to boot, I had learnt my lesson well. But I know it will be all worth it in the end; I'm really pleased with how it's turning out. I've just got to persevere.

Oh well, back to work tomorrow morning (yack!) - doesn't the weekend go by fast when you're having fun. I hope you all had good weekends too. Watch this space, as I will be talking about stitching again later on in the week - Yes.....stitching!!

Lots of love to you all, my fellow stitchers xxx

Woo-hoo, I'm a 7th Kyu!

Yes, me and my fellow 8th Kyu's (five of us in total) passed our Yellow Belt grading after a lot of nerves and intense practising. It definitely was a night to remember last night - I've never been so happy or so proud for a long time.

We were going to have an hour of normal training, then straight into grading for the next hour, but Sensei had a change of heart and said that instead we were going to have half an hour of practice, then straight into the gradings. At that point nearly all of my internal organs turned to mush - 'Oh no, half an hour?! That's not going to be nearly enough time to run through the moves!' But I needn't have worried - I got all the moves worked out in my head, remembering the little things, like 'Don't stomp, slide your feet', 'splay your hands' and 'arms slightly bent'. Then the moment of truth finally arrived.

Unfortunately, because we were lower down in the chain so to speak, being 8th Kyu, or White belts, we were up first. I look back now and feel greatly relieved about that, as I don't think my stomach could have taken an agonizing wait. I was worrying that I wouldn't be able to recognise the moves when they were called (they're all called in Japanese). We were called up into our lines, then in the blink of an eye, it was all over! We got a huge round of applause from our fellow 'Aikidoka' and as we sat back down we got patted on the back, with cries of 'well done' and 'you looked great' - I must have looked liked the 'Cheshire Cat' as I couldn't get rid of the cheesey grin that had now etched itself on my face! We then watched the gradings from 6th to 4th Kyu - and it made me realise that it doesn't stop at just getting a yellow belt. How my fellow classmates remembered what to do I'll never know - I thought what we had to do was difficult. But I realise that that is the challenge. Here is what I had to do for my grading:

1. Migi Hammi no Kamae (basic stance, right posture)
2. Hidari Hanmi no Kamae (basic stance, left posture)
3. Seiza Ho (move into seated position)
4. Shikko Ho (knee walking)
5. Ukemi (falling)
6. Tai no Henko Ichi (body change movement one)
7. Tai no Henko Ni (body change movement two)
8. Hiriki no Yosei Ichi ( elbow power movement one)
9. Hiriki no Yosei Ni (elbow power movement two)
10. Shumatsu Dosa Ichi (fixing movement one)
11. Shumatsu Dosa Ni (fixing movement two)
12. Katate Mochi Shihonage Ichi (one-handed grasp, four direction throw one)
13. Katate Mochi Shionage Ni (one handed grasp, four direction throw two)
14. Shomen Uchi Ikkajo Osae Ichi (front strike to head, first control, movement one)
15. Shomen Uchi Ikkajo Osae Ni (front strike to head first control, movement two)

When the gradings were finished, we were called to line up in front of Sensei to receive feedback and to find out whether we had passed or not - and of course because we graded first, we were called up first. So there we were, all five of us in front of Sensei, not quite knowing what to expect, but what he said was unbelievable. Not only had we passed, but we were by far the best 7th Kyu grading in the Dojo's history - what an achievement. I still can't believe it! I'm still on a high - and yes I know this is a HUGE post, but I'm so happy! And P.S. there WILL be a STITCHING UPDATE ON PHOENIX THIS WEEKEND, promise! xxx

'Hurt'

I came across this song, quite a few years ago. It was written by Trent Reznor, the man behind the band 'Nine Inch Nails' and appeared on their album 'Downward Spiral'. Johnny Cash heard the song, loved it - and did an excellent cover of it. I've got a soft spot for Johnny, as my 'Da', God rest his soul, was a huge fan and had all his albums. Now I prefer this cover to the original - and whenever I hear Johnny's gravel-filled voice, it reminds me of my wonderful Father.

Over the last 8 months since the split, I've thought a lot about my him and what he would have made of all this. I've never stopped thinking about and missing him since he died - I don't think you ever do when you've lost a parent (or any family member for that matter). When I've been feeling down, I've thought about his smile and his infectious laugh - I would do anything to bring him back. This is for you, my lovely Da xx

Debilitating or Liberating?

Hello!

Yes, that was the question posed to me today by one of my work colleagues. I don't quite know how we got on to the subject - it was quite surreal. One minute she was asking me how to use Microsoft Visio and the next minute, she was asking "How have you been since xx left?"

I must say I had to really put my thinking cap on for a response. I've reached a point now where I don't even think about it - I get up in the morning, go to work, come back home in the evening and chill - it hadn't even crossed my mind until that moment. But thinking about the past 8 months and how I've been since it all happened has made me realise that it's actually been quite a liberating experience!

Now before everyone thinks "Oooh what a heartless old hag", I'm not saying that I've been devoid of all feeling. On the whole it's been a very said and painful process to go through. Sometimes an old picture or even a smell can bring back a good memory about how good things used to be and before you know it, I'm reaching for the tissues. But out of all the well meaning advice I've been given (the worst being, 'Cheer up, it may never happen!' - aarrrggh!), the best one was 'focus on your family, your friends and be thankful for what you have'. In fact, it's been the best advice I've ever had. I've put this into practice and here are some fab things that I focus on:-

1. If I want to lounge about at the weekend in just my pyjamas and my fluffy bunny socks, I can do so to my hearts content.
2. I can look at what I want to on the telly, without being harangued into changing the channel.
3. I don't have to 'queue' to use the computer anymore.
4. The 'Smelly Sock Mountain' at the end of the bed is now a thing of the past.
5. When I choose a CD to listen to, I can actually listen to it there and then, without having to organise an expedition to hunt it down because it's been put back in a completely different case.
6. The bathroom now resembles a haven of peace and tranquility, not some grotty hole frequented by 'Wee John Poo-Pong McHonk'!!
   

So to answer my colleagues question, all in all, things are very much tickety-boo! I've discovered that there is in fact, life after separation - Hurrah!!

Lots of love to you my fellow stitchers! xxxxx

Blimey, where's January Gone??

Hi All

Firstly, I just wanted to say thanks to every single one of you for your kind comments and good wishes and I'm so sorry for not answering them personally - I will get round to posting on your blogs tonight. Secondly, I just wanted to let you all know that I'm back and I've missed you all terribly.

Ma is doing fine and she's back to her old self. She's still 'not out of the woods' yet, but she's a lot better than she was. We went back to the hospital on 25th January only to discover that she should have been given some medication when she was discharged, but they forgot. Well, I won't tell you exactly what I said because it might offend, but as you can imagine, I was absolutely livid, in fact I was incandescent with rage. Ma said afterwards that I looked quite scary!

Anyway, on a lighter note, I went to see 'The Rocky Horror Show' at the Royal Centre here in Nottingham on 1st Feb, which was an absolute hoot! I've been to see the show over the years a few times, but it was great to sing the songs and do the actions. Then on 2nd February, I celebrated my 36th birthday with my Sis and Bro-in-Law. For my birthday present, they took me to an excellent Japanese restaurant, just on the outskirts of Nottingham centre. They thought it appropriate, being as I'm studying Aikido. Speaking of which, my yellow belt grading is now taking place on Wednesday 28th February at the Dojo. It should have taken place at the end of January but because of what happened, I couldn't make it. I went training last night, and my Sensei quite confidently said 'You'll walk it!' - well if he says I'm good enough, then that's good enough for me!!

Anyway, enough waffling. Thanks to you all again for thinking about me over the last couple of weeks. You all make this blog worthwhile - bless your hearts! I'll be posting as normal from now on, but I'm not saying that too loudly in case something else happens! Bigs hugs xxxx

Just when I thought it was safe....

....to even think that the New Year was getting off to a splendid start, it didn't. Three days into the New Year and I get a call at work on my mobile...it's my Mum.

"Hello Heid, now don't be alarmed, but I'm at home and I've called for an ambulance". The coffee cup I was drinking from landed with a crash on my desk, breaking clean in two, its contents flooding my keyboard. "Oh my God Mum, what's happened?" After finishing the call it was all hands to the pump - my new Boss gave me a lift home, bless her.

It turned out that she was bleeding heavily - when I got home I found her in the bathroom, sitting on the loo, still with cordless phone in hand, looking very pale and gaunt. The ambulance arrived and we were rushed to A&E, then the Gynaegology unit of the Queen's Medical Centre, where she was admitted - she hates hospitals at the best of times, but a two-night stay didn't go down well at all. Her womb is the problem - it's been prolapsed for quite a number of years and was not a problem until now. There's a trip back to hospital on Thursday (25th) to find out what exactly happened and what can be done, but as you can imagine, Ma isn't looking forward to it one bit. I'm going with her because not only does she hate hospitals with a passion, but if I'm not there she won't ask the right questions. She'll just take whatever the Doctor says to her.

That's why I've not been on here just lately. I've also changed bosses at work - I'm now PA/Administrator to the new Director of European Programmes so it's a whole new ball game, but thankfully my new boss is lovely. My last boss was male - and was also a lovely kind boss, but my new boss is even nicer. Thank heavens for lovely bosses! I've been getting into work early and coming home after 6pm, and when I've come home and whizzed up something quick to eat, afterwards I've been looking after Mum, so it's all been a bit frantic of late. My stitching is severely lacking on the 'Phoenix' front too, which at some point I will rectify, but it's on the back burner for the time being. Anyway enough about me - I hope you're all doing ok - I've missed you, but huge apologies in advance if you don't see me on here quite as much for the next couple of weeks. I'll be back on track soon! xxx

HELLO 2007!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Yes hello 2007 (TOUCHDOWN!!) and goodbye horrible nasty 2006. To say I'm happy to see the back of it is an understatement!!!

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas - I certainly did. I got loads of presents, most of it being books and more books - I'm a big fan of sci-fi and fantasy - most of the books you see here are fantasy novels.......



Plus a few Calendars...you'd never guess I love cats would you? hee hee.....


The rest of my presents were made up of DVD's - I got 'The Chronicles of Narnia' four disc extended edition, 'Pirate's of the Carribean - Dead Man's Chest', 'X-Men: The Last Stand' and 'Firefly' the complete series (which I've been meaning to get, as Husband took the copy we had), so I've done very well this year!

I bought a game called 'Apples to Apples' a couple of days before Christmas, thinking it wouldn't be much good, but how wrong I was - it's a fantastic game and a good purchase, as it had us all in bits with laughter on Boxing Day. Along with playing 'UNO' we were laughed out by the end of it all! Fudge liked the box very much. Fudge is a very big cat and he thought it a very good idea to try and cram himself into the lid of the 'Apples to Apples' game......



And didn't do a very good job! Awww....what a cutie!

I didn't do too bad staying in by myself last night - I had my DVD's to watch, Fudge to cuddle and Ma to keep me company. My best mate invited me over to her house for a huge gathering with all our other mutual friends (which is something me and DH always did at New Year) - I knew that DH was going to be there - I couldn't face it. I felt it contradictory to try and be happy and bright and say in a cheery voice 'HAPPY NEW YEAR' when I didn't feel happy in the slightest. And DH insists on calling me 'mate' whenever he sees me which I can't stand. 'Hello mate, how you doing?' He has said that on more than one occasion and it irritates me to distraction. 'NO! I'm not your 'mate', I'm your Wife, or have you bloody forgotten that fact already?!?'

Anyway - it's now 2007 and I feel deep in my bones that this is going to be a good year for me - if not, I'm going to have a bloody good time finding out! I hope each and every one of you have a very, very Happy New Year - and thanks to each and every one of you for reading my blog. You have all been so good to me and I feel like I've known you all for many years, especially 'Singular Stitches', 'CatandTurtle', 'Ali B', 'Stitcherw', 'Rowyn', 'Lili', 'BlissXStitches', 'Leila', 'Rowyn', 'Juanita' , 'Sue' and 'Carol' - THANK YOU all so much for your kind words, your friendship and for making this blog worthwhile. If I can be of help to any of you, you just let me know. My only resolution for 2007 is to blog more regularly, to leave comments on your blogs and actually put some more stitching on here!

Take care everybody, and thanks again! xx

Happy Holidays!

Hey everybody. It's been a while but I'm finally here. Thank you for your patience - I've been so busy my feet haven't touched the ground!

I just wanted to say that I hope you all have a lovely Christmas. I wasn't going to celebrate it myself, but then I thought, darn it, why should I let what's happened get in the way of my festive spirit?! I'm going to my Sis and Bro-in-Laws tomorrow to join in the fun and games (there'll be about 8 of us, including my middle Sis and BIL) and no doubt we'll be playing the card game 'UNO' until the early hours. We did that last year (when Xmas Day was at my house), but it increasingly becomes a game of skill once you've had a few 'festive fizzy pops' shall we say. Then for Boxing Day, I've decided to host the dinner and drink marathon. I'm going to be busy - and a bit sad - but I'm looking at the next couple of days with the view that they are just what a are - a couple of days. I've got through the worst of it so far, tomorrow and Tuesday shouldn't make any difference. It's been really nice actually, as I've received so many pats on the back - and people heartily saying 'good for you hun!' - It's made me all the more determined to enjoy myself.

It's also been a bit awkward, as I haven't received as many cards as I did last year, but hey, if people want to be like that, then fine - I can do without them. I sent all my cards as usual without ever thinking whether I should be doing or not. It just goes to show how surprising it can be when you think you've known someone for years, then when you mention 'separation', it all changes. Yes I'm separated, I've not got the flu virus!!! Ah who cares about them anyway? I instantly look at the following to cheer me up.......


Yes this is my bedside cabinet/table - with my lovely little buzzy bee picture and card from Ann, and my other lovely handmade cards from Lynn. I look at that little lot and always forget my troubles.

Well, I've even managed to fit in some stitching along the way......


Yes, even though I do say so myself, I'm rather chuffed with how 'Phoenix' is turning out at the moment - Lugana is always a joy to stitch - and this is no different, especially with the sparkles going through it. I'm looking forward to doing some more this week as I've got the whole week off - oooh bliss - non stop stitching, hurrah!!!

Well I shall sign off here. A very Merry Christmas to you and your families and I hope Santa brings you lots of lovely pressies, especially loads and loads of stitching goodies (I've got everything crossed to make sure that I do!). Oh, almost forgot - message for Stitcherw - thanks for 'tagging' me and I will definitely see to doing it after the next couple of days - PROMISE! x

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY! XXX

Licence to KERPOWW! and 'The Phoenix is Rising!'

My goodness - two posts in one week - it's a miracle LOL :)

Another thing I'm really rather chuffed about is that I got my Aikido licence and grading book at training the other night *cue a Spongebob Squarepants HOO-RAY!*



The grading book is a bit like a passport in the Aikido world. Every time you grade and gain a different coloured belt, they stamp and sign it with details of where and when you got it, with a rather awesome looking stamp. You can also record details of any training seminars that you attend as well. This year the club has been to seminars in Poland and also Japan (the home of Aikido). Unfortunately this was before I joined. Going to Japan would have been awesome as it has been a dream of mine for quite a number of years. I can't wait to find out where we'll be going next year - hopefully they'll go to Japan again. The next lot of grading will be in December - and with any luck I'll be swapping my white belt for a yellow one!

......and....yes, the Phoenix is finally rising from the ashes! I started mixing all the thread colours and putting them on me thread cards the weekend just gone. I've cut my lovely sparkly fabric to size and have put it on a frame, but I've not done any stitching as yet. I'm starting it at the weekend...so watch this space!! xx

Really Rather Chuffed!

A couple of days ago I went to see Opeth (one of my favourite bands of all time) at Rock City, here in Nottingham a couple of days ago - they're not to everyone's taste I grant you (they're a Death Metal band, but I see them more as a prog-rock sort of thingy). I took a photo with my new phone - I now have a very swanky looking Sony Ericsson W850i - and I must say I'm rather chuffed with the results after taking a few piccies. I won't bore you with all of them as they all look the same, bar a few colour changes with the lighting, but it's not bad considering it's a mobile phone camera.

I've also downloaded huge amounts of loverly moosic. The bus trip to work isn't quite so paint dryingly, mind numbling boring as it has been recently.

I just had to post this - I'm a gadget geek - I'll go away and shut up now :) - TTFN x

BRRRRR!!

Hoover dam but it's cold here! We had the warmest October on record here in the UK and now all of a sudden, Jack Frost has been trampling round here with his great big size 9 boots! It was so cold, I had to wear my gloves while on the way to work this morning, which is the first time ever this year. Fudge is also feeling it too, and is spending most of his time curled up on my new winter duvet!

'Ah...this is the life!'

That's just where I wanted to be this morning I can tell you! I love the winter during the day, but I'm not so keen on the dark nights, even more so because of my current situation. There always has to be a spanner in the works - but that's life, hey ho.

'Rose Trio' Update: Well, it's a very poor update. As you can see, I've only managed to make the drops slightly longer and putting the little heart shapes at their ends.


I've got Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening to myself, so I'm planning to get it all done by the end of the week. I really do need to start my 'Phoenix' asap, as I'm beginning to dream about it! Mind you, I suppose dreaming about a Phoenix isn't too bad - maybe it's my subconscious telling me that good changes are ahead, being as the Phoenix is a sign of rebirth and new starts - how cool would that be?! Have a good week xx

Note to Self......

......I must post more! Sorry, yet again, for the long absence. I've been battling things like sore throats and colds. I think my body is trying to tell me to slow down, which I am now beginning to take notice of. For the first time in a long time, I'm starting to feel comfortable being by myself, so being in the house doesn't feel so awful anymore. To this end I've decided to take things easy and I'm beginning to feel much better, both mentally and physically

Well a lovely thing happened at the weekend - look what I got from the 'Sweetie Across The Sea', otherwise known as Ann


Isn't it great?! It is currently residing on my bedside table, so I can look at cheery smiley Bumble Bee when I'm feeling down, which is usually first thing in the morning. The card is sooo cuuuute! I think you can make it out in the picture, but there's a sweetie little dog curled up and underneath the words 'Ruff Day?' Bless you Ann, you're a gem! xx The card sits with the cards that Lynn sent me, when she sent over that luvvverly body wash and moisture creme.

I've started to watch DVDs again, which for some reason I couldn't for quite a while (I think it was maybe because I used to watch them with Husband). I went out and bought 'Pride & Prejudice' - it was only a fiver in HMV! I had to get it. Talking of Bronte novels being brought to the silver screen, I was absolutely riveted to the new adaptation of 'Jane Eyre' that the BBC produced. It was in four parts and finished a couple of weeks ago. Now Sundays are totally bereft of something to look forward to. An English actor by the name of Toby Stephens played the wonderfully moody Mr Rochester. Toby played the baddie Gustav Graves in the 007 movie 'Die Another Day' and is Dame Maggie Smith's younger son. He just totally floats my boat and blows Matthew MacFadyen out of the water! Check out http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/janeeyre/- it's well worth a look!

Update on 'Rose Trio' - I've done some more, but I've seriously neglected my poor stitching. I'll be making up for it by doing some over the weekend and posting some more photos of it so you can see. It's nearly finished, then on to 'The Phoenix' which I can't wait to stitch!

That's all for now - and I promise I won't leave my next posting too long! Thanks for dropping by - and thanks for your patience. Big Hugs! xx

I'm Still Here!

Hey everybody - sorry for not posting for so long...but I've been so busy! To stop moping around at home I've taken up a few new pastimes. I've always done Tai Chi on a Monday evening and Badminton on a Sunday morning, but now I have Badminton on a Tuesday evening and I've started training in Aikido on a Thursday evening (phew - just makes me tired looking at all this lol!) This now means I only have 3 nights a week to myself - and when I'm not sleeping I'm doing things like ironing and keeping the house straight.

Generally I've not been too bad - I still have my down days but they seem to be easing somewhat, although I had a terrible time last Tuesday. Every time I sat down at work to tackle something or other, I'd start to cry. I'm just so thankful my Boss is so understanding - he's a real sweetie, in fact all of my work colleagues have been absolutely brilliant to me. I'm very lucky. I had a little cry before going online tonight, but I think that's because I'm suffering with a head cold and I can never think straight at the best of times when I have one of those. I just wish I could wake up tomorrow and find that this was all a bad dream. But, that doesn't mean to say I'd go back to how things were between me and DH because that obviously (I can see it now) wasn't working, but I'd love for once not to wake up, go through the day and go to bed thinking about how crap this all is. Maybe one day soon...

Anyway, here is an update on my 'Rose Trio' WIP - as you can see, I have managed to fit in some time to stitch - it won't be long before I've finished it........

But....... good ole' Blogger, in fine tradition, isn't playing nicely so I will try to upload it later on in the week (typical). I've just tried again to load some more holiday pics and Blogger is still sulking in the corner. AHAAA!........


Oh well, at least you can see RT, but the holiday photos no go....I thought it was too good to be true. Ah well, can't have it all peachy can we?? Anyway, I'll sign off here now. Love to you all my fellow stitchers - I hope you have a cracking week!

TTFN xxxxxx

'I'm so Lucky '& Stitching Stuff

Hello again :)

I am soooo lucky to have such lovely stitching friends.......look what arrived in the post a couple of weeks ago.


I was going to post this a few weeks ago, but I've been so busy (and worn out!) that I never got round to it until now. What you see before you is a lovely suprise I received in the mail from the lovely talented lass that is Singular Stitches

I visited her blog one evening and commented on some cloths that she had knitted. I remarked on how lovely they were (and they are I can tell you - check it out) and low and behold - a couple of weeks later I got this fantastic washcloth (which in my opinion works better than a loofah) and some lovely Mary Kay products (some lovely body wash and some moisture lotion). They are aptly called 'Embrace Happiness', which is just what I did when I used them - they smell fab the fragrance lasts for ages! Isn't she just the greatest? :)

I thought it also about time I actually put some stitching on here, so here is the L*K piece that I completed a few weeks ago - 'In All Things Give Thanks'. I stuck to the original threads used (which were an absolute pain to use - they kept knotting up on me every two seconds - and with Thread Heaven on them as well!) but I got there in the end.


And here's the project I'm currently working on. It's an Art-Stitch design called 'Rose Trio'. It's an absolute dream to stitch because the colours are so simple - just what I need being as my brain has decided to take up residence in my bum with everything that's going on at the moment!


And...YAY! My fabric arrived from Silkweaver for the Dracolair 'Phoenix' project that I'm going to be doing when I have completed 'Rose Trio'. It's a 28-count opalescent lugana in 'Sparkling Sundown' from their 'Reflections' range...here's a piccie - a not very good quality one I know but you can see the way it sparkles - I'm glad it lives up to its name!


It's things like the above that make me realise life is worth living and it makes me humble. I really am a lucky gal!

I shall be posting more of my holiday photies later on in the week, so watch this space - thanks for dropping by and have a great week :) xxx

Time for a Change

I've decided to change my blog to something different, as now I am posting to you from my brand new computer. I was getting fed up with looking at pink all the time!

Well, my trip to Loch Lomond was amazing - I think I need another holiday to get over it! The weather was fantastic and the places we saw were fantastic as well. We stayed in Tarbet, which is the main of 3 other villages around Loch Lomond. The gaelic word for Tarbet is 'Tairbeart' meaning isthmus or, literally, "draw-boat". Loch Lomond at Tarbet is a mile and a half from a sea loch, Loch Long, at Arrochar (Arrochar is the next village, approximately 2 miles away). There is a valley that connects them, which is low lying and was long used as a portage route for boats. Also in 1263, Viking raiders sailed their longships between the two to allow them to do their plundering and pillaging along the shores of Loch Lomond.


A lovely pic of Loch Lomond. This was taken the next day after we arrived. The mountain you see behind the Loch is Ben Lomond, which in Gaelic means 'Beacon Mountain'


...and this is Loch Lomond to the right of the previous picture. This is where all the little boat tours leave from.


This is the Tarbet Hotel. It was a lovely little place to stay, but it's not exactly modern in decor. It didn't matter to me - it would have looked a bit strange to see modern furniture in a place as old as this.

That's about it for the moment. I have more piccies to show you in relation to our trip to Stirling Castle, Inverary, Fort William and Oban, but I shall post them later on this week, as good old Blogger is deciding to sulk. Back to work tomorrow (groan) - oh deep joy!

Until next time :)

I'm off to Bonnie Scotland!

Hey everybody :)

Yes, I'm off to Loch Lomond very early tomorrow morning, so I thought I would type a quick post now, as I won't have time in the morning. I'm in need of a break again - also yesterday (August 26th) was my wedding anniversary, so I decided to take the week off, as I would have been on holiday(in normal circumstances) anyway.

Yesterday was suprisingly OK. Mind you, I had booked a full body aromatherapy massage for the morning, so I pretty much floated along yesterday after that! But I didn't cry, or mope, so yet another hurdle successfully over with. My Ma, Sisters, Brother's in Law and all my friends were really proud of me....and I was proud of me too. I'd been dreading the 26th for so long, but when it finally reared it's scary head, I showed it a karate chop or two and sent it flying :)))

I will be back sometime on Friday September 1st, so at least I'll have Saturday and Sunday to recover, as it's going to be a long journey (roughly about 5ish hours I estimate there and back). I shall be bringing my trusty digital camera with me, so when I come back I'll post some photies. I plan to have a few trip days. I'm hoping to catch the ferry to Oban, a beautiful place, and then visit Stirling Castle - I'm sure I'll be bring back some awesome pics!

I also just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for your kind words, your support, your friendship and your love and understanding. I think, in fact I KNOW, that if I didn't have such wonderful friends out there in the stitching/blogging world, I don't think I mentally would have made it. Your advice and your friendship has kept me strong, and it continues to do so, and a special thanks goes out to a certain few (they know who they are). Every single one of you are my Guardian Angels...bless you and lots of ((((((((((HUGS)))))))))) to all of you.

Take care, have a lovely week and I'll post when I get back.
Lots of Love xxxxxxx

World of the Strange

Hi all

It's been a while, but I'm back. Thanks for your patience. A lot of things have happened since I last posted.

DH has finally moved out, which was, to say the least, very traumatic. But it's done now and for the moment I can begin to heal. Although I never wanted him to move out, I wanted him to (sounds contradictory I know) because it was getting to the point where I would physically hurt every time I clapped eyes on him. I was stuck in limbo - I could neither move on or get some sort of closure. Him still being here also sent out huge mixed messages - "Sorry dear, I don't love you anymore, but despite making a few attempts to find a place of my own, I'm going to stay here and act like nothing's happened." It was very draining and it also started affecting my health and sanity, so something had to give. A fortnight ago on Wednesday, he moved in temporarily with his best friend.

It's been tough trying to adjust. It's almost like learning to walk again - it's a new routine, a new way of doing things. To say it was strange is an understatement, but, I'm slowly beginnning to come to terms with it. It doesn't stop me missing him like crazy - I still love him - and it's weird to find him not there in the morning, but right now there's nothing I can do about it, other than just get on with life and enjoy it the best I can. Fudge is being really clingy at the moment - I think he can sense that I'm still sad and upset, but also I know that he misses DH too. Fudge has started sleeping at the foot of the bed - this morning he was doing his impression of a furry six-pointed star, on his back purring and snorring at the same time!

I've started going to counselling and that has been a huge help. It's liberating to be able to sound off at someone who's totally neutral, who doesn't know your family and the baggage they carry around. My counsellor (Lizzie) is really great. Still, I'm worried about Husband, as I don't think he's properly talked to anybody about how he's doing or feeling. It's hard to guage, as nearly all my friends are mutual friends of his as well, so I don't know whether they're not telling me if he's talked to them because they think it might hurt my feelings or whether he's just not said anything. Hopefully I'll find out soon. If he doesn't face up to what's happened and try to mask how he's feeling by staying out every night or going to friends houses every night, not having total space and time on his own to reflect, it'll catch up with him sooner all later - and he'll crash and burn.

Meanwhile, to change the subject, I've started a new project, which I'm loving at the moment because it's so easy to stitch - I will take some photos over the weekend and post them so you can see. I'll leave you with piccies of Misty and Fudge.....



Here's Fudge hogging the bed.....



...and one of him ignorning me completely!.........



...and Misty being totally cute...awwww

Thanks for listening and thanks to you, my wonderful stitching friends, for making my blog worthwhile and for being brilliant. Take care xxxxxxx