No swirls for me

I managed to get a couple of hours of hooking in tonight. I thought I would try and go a little out of my comfort zone and hook the sky with lots of swirlies.

I got a fairly good size area complete on the left side of the rug. Guess what?? Its not working. It looks stupid. Apparently I'm not an out-of-the-box-swirly kind of girl! So frustrating, as I see how wonderful this effect can be in other people's rugs.

So tomorrow night I will begin the painful task of pulling out all those strips and starting again. Arrrgh!

Picasso........maybe not.

Corinne at Momz Wool has been working on some new dye techniques and recently took a class on painting wool. When I started the outhouse rug she offered to "paint" the wool for my sky. I really couldn't get my head around it, but I was curious enough about it to say yes. I guess I kept thinking about thick globby paint, drying crunchy on the wool.

We had picked out a few shades before so when she called me today to come over I assumed she had finished the wool. But when I got there, she had the natural wool soaked and spread out and she handed me the paint brush! No way - I thought she was joking.....but she wasn't! Once I started - it was a blast. Just started swinging that brush with 3 different dyes mixes. Here is the end result. I'm just getting ready to cut it up.

Here is the outhouse rug progress. I can't wait to see how this wool will look in the sky. I'm hoping it will have a mystical kind of feel.

And last but not least, my lilac tree has started to bloom. There are lots of blooms on the top so it looks like it is recovering from the storm damage.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Sometimes a refund is a bad thing

Several months ago I broke down and bought a Townsend Cutter and 2 cutter heads. As this was a major investment, my plan was to add new size heads once or twice a year as the budget permitted.

Some plans were not meant to be...... I'm sure all you rug hookers know by now that Townsend is closing their business in a few weeks. As soon as I read the sad news on another blog last weekend, I went directly to Ault's website and ordered 2 additional cutter heads. Woo Hoo ---or so I thought! Two days later I checked Ault's blog and read that they had received more orders than they had stock, so it was a waiting game to see if I would be one of the lucky ones.

Sigh.......last night I received an email from Larry Ault and they could not fill my order and were refunding my Paypal account! Bummer............ I have been franctically searching the web, and even put my name on a waiting list at Searsport Rug Hooking, but its not looking promising.

This is one time that getting money back SUCKS! I still have my Fraser cutter to fall back on for different size cuts but its just not the same.

Moving Day and the Incredible Shrinking Vacation

Tomorrow the packing continues. Its a massive moving project at my office building. In an effort to improve customer service etc we are shuffling everybody around. Basically the workers on the 1st and 2nd floors are switching places. So we all are completely packing up our offices and on Monday we are all moving at once!!

Its amazing how much crap you keep in offices, especially over a decade or so. One employee has been in the same office for 30 years! We have sent truckloads and truckloads of garbage out the door.

It sounded like a good idea a few weeks ago but now I'm foreseeing chaos and confusion. 23 people moving files and furniture in 1 day........Oh MY ! One good thing is that after the move Corinne (MomzWool) and I will be right next door to each other. I think it might be hard to concentrate on work and there might be a bit too much hooking talk going on at work!

This leads to the "Incredible Shrinking Vacation". About 2 months ago I requested next week for vacation. I need to get my cottage cleaned and freshened up as I am renting it out at the end of June for a month. Since it hasn't been used for 3 years - this is going to be a big job!

About 2 weeks ago my boss asked me if I could amend my plans and come to work on Monday as it is moving day. No problem - - - - Then today he tells me about a very important meeting, in the city, on Tuesday. He was nice about it and said he knew I was on vacation, so he wouldn't force me to go BUT......... It is related to a Union Bargaining issue, so of course I have to go.....which I said I would. So thats 2 days gone out of 5 ! I did tell him that he was really gonna owe me a couple of sunny days of my choice this summer .....no matter what is going on at work. He just laughed! LOL I'm not really complaining. I have a great job and a fair amount of flexibility.

I guess this just means that when I actually get to the cottage to clean, I will really have to focus and not take frequent breaks out on the deck with a cool beverage! Which is probably why it usually takes me so long to finish! hahaha

Another Year Older

Yes, today is my birthday! And I have been celebrating since Friday!! I had a wonderful old Great Aunt Frances who believed that special occasions should last longer than 1 day, so I took a page from her book this year!

Becky kicked the weekend off with her Martini Happy Hour on Friday. Just a few of my closest work friends - perfect. Then Saturday I had a long lunch with another 2 bff's - Terri and Charmaine. We spent the afternoon downtown at Duncan's Pub. Hours of good food, tons of gossip, and so much laughing my face hurt when I got home!

Sunday I woke up early and snuck out of the house alone for a few hours. I am a text-book "only-child" so I need to have a little quiet, personal time every once in awhile. I hopped in the car, cranked up the stereo, and went for a long drive along the Northumberland Shore - cottage country! I had the camera and stopped lots of different places along the way, happily snapping shots. I had some great shots..........or so I thought. But when I got home 3 hours later and downloaded them -------none of them turned out. They all were way over-exposed. I guess I had a setting wrong. There are too many darn buttons and dials on this camera. But even so, I had a great morning.

Then I grabbed the family and took them for a drive for the afternoon. I headed in the opposite direction and took them along the Bay of Fundy shore to Parrsboro and we had a seafood supper on the wharf.

Today was the BIG DAY. It really has been a perfect birthday weekend which ended with a family dinner and of course cake. I finally got the deck furniture re-built this morning, so I spent the afternoon sitting in the lounger with Millie and a book. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday weekend, or better friends!

Not a cloud in the sky

What a beautiful day..... A little nature.....

Words of wisdom.....

Abundance of blossoms....

Beauty everywhere....

Photos from an early morning visit to my Mom's friend Alice's Garden.

TGIF

Friday at last! I have to say the day started out a little rocky but that's a downer so I will save the car stories for another day. But the day ended fabulous.

Becky had another Happy Hour after work. A few more friends arrived, and they were bearing gifts! Ben brought martini ingredients, Corinne brought new martini glasses (so pretty), and Ed brought snacks. And of course Becky had shrimp, stuffed mushrooms, peppered goat cheese etc.

Sun, food and friends on a backyard deck......It doesn't get much better than that does it?

Here are a few more pics I've randomly taken in the past few days. This is a dandylion up close. I'm starting to gain a new appreciation for them.This is the gnarly old tree in the backyard. A close up of the Burning Bush.

And finally a mirrored tea light holder on Becky's coffee table. I love this one!

Tomorrow morning, weather permitting, I think I'll take a little drive and see if I can find anything interesting.

OMG, OMG

Grey's Anatomy Season Finale!

Are you watching?

Can you believe it?

Speechless.....

Dummies ??

I discovered this week that there really is a "for Dummies" book for everything!

As with most new things I attempt, I usually dive right in full-force. So I am anxious to figure out all I can about my new camera and photography in general. Its quite it bit more than the digital point-and-shoot cameras ( or so the book says!).

I googled "photography for dummies" as a joke and BOOM......they were all kinds of books! So I went out tonight and bought one. A little light reading for the long weekend.

Now if I could learn a few things and the weather would cooperate this weekend I might have a chance!

Sunday Ramblings

First, I have had some chuckles reading the comments on my fiddlehead post - especially Linda's.......worms hahaha. Thank goodness Julie has at least heard of them before. I was starting to feel weird for eating them!

Now on to Sunday's post. The good news is that I woke up this morning without the migraine that has been tormenting me for 2 days. Woohoo! And it was bright and sunny outside - another bonus as I have been stuck in most of the weekend.

Seems like perfect conditions to go for a country drive and play with my new camera. Oh, did I mention I bought myself a fancy new camera?? Did I also forget to mention I don't know how to use it?? Oh well, I'll figure it out as soon as I have a coffee. While I was brewing the coffee the house felt a little damp and chilly so I turned up the thermostat a few degrees.........nothing! Crap - furnace is broken and its Sunday so that means a double-time call out charge for the repair guy!!! So I spent all the rest of the morning waiting for him to arrive and eventually figure out its a broken switch. This bill is going to be horrendous!

By now its noon and starting to cloud over a bit. But I figured a little country drive must boost my mood so I headed out - better late than never. I did manage to take a few pictures, none too great but at least I am experimenting with some of the settings.

This is a shot of the Tidnish River with the Chignecto Ship Railway Bridge way on the background left.
The other side of the river with a few boys out for a little boat ride.

And this precious little face was poking out of the back deck as I drove in the driveway. I couldn't resist. I think she missed me!
Maybe next weekend, with no disasters I can take some more interesting practice pics.

Fiddlehead Greens

Gee its been a while between posts. Not sure where the middle of the week went but I have been suffering the past 2 days with a headache. It seems to be easing up a bit, thankfully. I don't want to spend my entire weekend laying on the sofa.

Out of necessity I did go out this afternoon to the grocery store. I'm sure I looked HOT......no make-up, old sweatshirt and half looped up on extra strength Advil! But it was worth the trip because the Produce Dept had fresh fiddlehead greens. They are a treat as they are only available for about 2 weeks a year.

For those of you not familiar with them, they are an edible young fern that grows along the banks of rivers and streams. Trust me, they taste better than they look. Melted butter and a splash of vinegar ~~~Perfect.

Re-Wired and Sweetened

Today I was at the dentist to get my braces adjusted. I go every 2 months for a torturing (Oops, I meant "tightening"!) So the next few days will be uncomfortable, with lots of soft food. Fortunately it only lasts a few days. Maybe I'll even manage to lose a pound or two....... That would be an added bonus.

Before I left the city and headed for home I stopped at my favorite coffee shop to pick up a couple of boxes. And they had a new flavor ~~~~SUGAR BUSH MAPLE Coffee. I bought a handful of samples to try. Whoooaaa - Yummy! Really different - sweet but not sickening. So my next trip I'll have to get a whole box. I still have 2 cups left and now I'm thinking that it might taste good with a little chocolate milk........Yeah! Thats a little trick I learned from Skip To My Ewe Blog. You should try it.

Well, today it was like it was Monday morning all darn day! You know the story of the Midas Touch, where everything he touches turns to gold? For me today, it was the reverse.......seems like everything I touched today turned into a big, stinky, steaming pile of POO.

And it wasn't just one thing. Days like this, you wanna just go get a lucky lottery ticket and pack it in! LOL

After work I thought I would pick up an un-finished project and get it done. Here is the Beach Bum fully hooked. I'll start binding the edges while I'm watching Dancing With The Stars. (I'm addicted) It seemed appropriate to finish the Beach Bum, since I had to KISS alot of BUTT today!

Happy Hour

Every couple of months my friend and co-worker Becky and I get together Friday after work for a few drinks and gossip. I woke up Friday morning and thought....."Gee I could really use a Happy Hour tonight". It was a beautiful sunny day and Becky had just added a new little deck to the back of her house, so I thought it would be a good idea.

Hmmmm, now if I could just find a way to drop a hint or two.........

But, as luck would have it - She suggested it first! I guess it must have been just one of those kind of days!

It was a perfect little break for a few hours to unwind and forget all the chores and obligations.

Happy Hour at Beck's Deck! TGIF

Rug Update

While I am not making as much progress as I had hoped, this rug is progressing, albeit slowly. The final destination for this rug is the bathroom door at the cottage. Most of the cottages in my area had an outhouse at one time, so I think it will be cute.

I haven't decided if it will be day or dusk in this scene. Corinne at Momz Wool recently took a class on painting wool. So she wants to paint my sky. It sounds cool, but I am having a bit of trouble visualizing the effect. So I have decided to wait until I see the wool and then I'll decide.

I might start hooking the birch tree tonight.

Face down and oiled up

OK, now that I have your attention.........Get your filthy minds out of the gutter.....I had a massage after work! Relaxing and torturous at the same time. She always manages to find some knot to work out. I let out the occasional yelp, and then laugh as she asks if its too rough! Of course I say NO, keep going! I hate to say this out loud, in case I jinx it, but I think Spring is here for real this time. The leaves seem to have popped out overnight. This is my lilac tree. I'm crossing my fingers that I get some blooms this year, but it may still be recovering from extensive damage from an ice storm, but maybe.......

And another definite sign of Spring is the appearance of the dreaded dandylion. Don't let the picture fool you......there are waaaay more than just one on my lawn. Guess I'm going to have to break down and get the lawn mowed soon.

Next post will be an update on the Outhouse rug . I have been taking 1 step forward and 2 backwards. I had the building 3/4 hooked and had 2nd thoughts on the wool selection. So I pulled it out and tried a more subtle blend. Well, I didn't like that either so now I'm hooking the original strips back in. Arrgh

Never a dull moment

Its been quite a week. The wild-eyed craziness started Monday. Mondays are my long days at work - arriving just after 8am and not getting home until a few minutes to 9pm after a Council meeting. I barely got changed into some comfy clothes and settled on the sofa when the phone started ringing.

Here we go...................... It is Margaret's brother from Alberta. (Margaret is a friend of my Mom's with no family nearby, so we look out for her) He says he just called her on the phone and something is terribly wrong. So I head out at 9:30pm with my emergency key to check it out. Things were not good. I was alone and she is not a small woman, but I managed to dress her and get her into the car. No easy feat, I might add. Confused, fever, trouble breathing and responding to commands. Oh my nerves! It was 1am before I left the hospital and they admitted her. Her son is a few hours away and was on the road.

The drama continued the next few days - cardiac arrest at 3am Wednesday, temp. pacemaker by 3:30am and permanent pacemaker implanted Friday. Whew! I checked on her this afternoon and some crazy doctor (who looked about 18 years old) was talking about releasing her! WELL, I went all crazy eyed and psycho on the little twit. Geez, this woman is 78 years old, lives alone in a 2 story house, is still on a catheter, still spiking a fever at least once a day, and her heart stopped 3 days ago........ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME ???

By the time I left there was no talk of release for the time being but I'm sure I could have blown up the blood pressure machine if they had hooked me up.

There is one tiny bit if humour in this. When I got Marg to the hospital Mon. night I looked down as I was trying to get her in the wheelchair and I had dressed her with one shoe and one slipper - BOTH LEFT FEET. OMG........