It's me...Millie

Hi everyone! Its me, Millie.  Mommy has been busy today so I decided to help out a little.   She has been cleaning and shopping and cooking.  But its OK, because I heard her say she is on vacation!  Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy..............I know what that word means.  It means she gets to hang out with me ALL DAY.  Ooooh, I'm so excited I might even chase my tail later!!

This is gonna be so great.  I'll get more rides in the car.  And I'm guessing if I play the cute card, I might even score some extra treats!  Gee I wonder what we will do first?? 

I love Mommy's vacation.  And I think she likes hanging out with me too! 

Taking a Toll

 The past 2 months have begun to take their toll on me.   The month of June was busy at work plus I was spending every spare minute trying to get the cottage ready for the renters.  Sewing, cleaning, killing critters, cleaning, reparing, cleaning! Uuggh! 

I even made up a special Welcome Basket for the renters. All pretty with ribbons etc and filled with wine, fancy crackers, candy etc and a little welcome note so they would have a nice greeting when they arrived.  Well they left yesturday AND they didn't even leave a thank you note.  Seriously??  Am I being crazy and unreasonable??  Wouldn't you think they would at least leave a little note after being there for a month??  Maybe its just me, but I was expecting one.......I would have left one!

Then there has been the steady stream of company all July.  Everyone is leaving on Saturday.  Now don't get me wrong - I love them and there will be a flood of tears Friday night when they leave.....but it certainly has thrown our routine off.  

 This is how I feel this morning.........

And I have been letting the chores go a bit.  I have just been doing the bare minimum.  The laundry is piling up....

And the cupboards are starting to look like Mother Hubbard's.  I haven't done a full grocery shop for weeks.

But, if I can just hang on until Friday at 4:01pm, I will be on VACATION for 2 weeks.  A "no company", just for me vacation.   Oooh, 4 more days!

My first Blogiversary!!

I can hardly believe its been a whole year since I tentatively put that first post on-line. Then, 181 posts later I am so glad I did. I have enjoyed it so much. It was initially intended as 90% rug hooking and 10% my ramblings. Hmmm, I think its more reversed! LOL

I want to thank all who have supported me this past year. I should be having a GIVEAWAY, but I have had way to much company this month to get something together. But stay tuned, I will be having a belated blogiversary giveaway sometime in the next 2 weeks. Better later than never, right?

Thanks for reading!

Kim

Airports, Hot Dogs and Rugs

This morning I took Jane to the airport. (Sniff, boo-hoo) This week just flew by in an instant. But we did manage to squeeze alot of fun into a short time. I took Friday afternoon off work and we all piled into the car for a little roadtrip. We spent the afternoon in the Shediac, NB area for a little shopping and then a great seafood supper.

It was quite different from the roadtrips we took years ago in the 1970's. It was Nanny and Poppy, their 6 kids and me stuffed in an old Buick stationwagon with wood panels! "Are we there yet?" "I gotta pee" "Hey, Rick put gum in my hair" "Stop the car --- my snake got loose". Yup, that really happened. Needless to say, all the boys got searched before they could get in the car for the rest of that summer!!

The heat and humidity continues and is starting to take its toll. Poor Millie just lounges around like a limp noodle! And she doesn't like the beach. Princess doesn't like to get her feet dirty! Can you imagine???? Ahhhh, its a dog's life. Nap, nap, nap.

I actually finished hooking this rug last week, but haven't found the energy to steam and bind it yet. But since I am almost done another small rug I thought you wouldn't mind if I posted this one semi-unfinished. She is another fun Deanne Fitzpatrick design.

I am hoping to finish my other little hooked pillow tonight. I'm extra anxious because I want to start another one. I went to Corinne's this afternoon and came home with a bag of wool for a new project. Her basement studio (Momz Wool) is almost ready. There is some furniture and all the wool cupboards have been moved down. Yippee!!!! Another playroom. LOL

Thats enough for now. Time to grab the frame and finish my starfish pillow.

Oooh, and thanks for the input on the Great iPad Debate. I'm thinking again!

To iPad or Not to iPad....

That is the question. Arrrgh the internal battle is driving me nuts. I don't "need" one. Hmmm, but maybe I do, and I just don't know it yet?? LOL

I had basically put it out of my mind since I spent so much money on a new camera recently. But then, this afternoon, Corinne (or as I shall call her from now on - Evil Temptress) emailed me a link to a news article from some woman raving about how much she LOVED her new iPad!! Geez..... How is a girl like me supposed to have willpower with stuff like that out there in print??

So I read the article where she talked about the ebooks and the Kindle app. And I have wanted a Kindle for awhile so it would be like killing 2 birds with one stone, right??

Sigh, -------what to do, what to do?? Corinne, me and our Boss (another tech-nut) have been wanting one and we are all waiting for the other one to crack and order one. Then the other 2 can play with it before we commit. But so far it has been a battle of wills - each one of us taunting the other!

OK - so have any of you bought one?? Any thoughts?? I'm not sure if I am looking for reasons TO buy one or reasons NOT to buy one.

HELP ME...................

Giddy Sisters

Not much to report. I am having so much fun with Jane here at the beach. I only get to see her once a year for a week. We are very close - just like sisters but email and talking on the phone isn't the same. We get together at the cottage and instantly regress to immature giggly teenagers. Tonight was one of those nights we got a little too giddy at supper. We just couldn't seem to stop with the inappropriate stories, smart-ass quips and general silliness. Nanny and Poppy were in stitches too. Not so much laughing with us, as laughing at us! LOL

Eventually we moved outside on the deck (apparently to entertain the neighbors as well). I think this is one of those things that you have to be there to appreciate, but the words "Old Yeller" now bring all of us into hysterical fits of laughter. Poor Poppy was laughing so hard at us that he couldn't get himself out of the hammock without assistance.

I can't do it justice by explaning but we were not referring to the famous dog movie!!!

More Beach Life

This morning I went to the airport to pick up another one! This time it was Jane, the oldest daughter of our Vermont crew. She has always been like a big sister to me. Its so funny, when we get to the cottage and the beach where we both grew up, we instantly turn into kids again.

We spent the day down on the sand flats, walking, laughing and telling stories. Now that we are in our 40's and 50's we think its safe enough to tell her parents some of the stunts we pulled as teenagers. LOL I hope you are not sick of beach pictures yet. I'm afraid there will probably be one or two more posts before July is over. Here are a few more sand dollars after the bleaching.

Escargot anyone?? Mr. Snail before he ends up on an appetizer platter.

I just thought this shell was pretty.

After a long, very hot and humid day, the late day sun shines off the water.

Have a great week!

Gifts Galore from Gladys and the gang

About a week ago I got some exciting news. I was the lucky winner of the blog giveaway at Dog Trot Farms blog. I was clucking like a chicken at the news!! If you have never visited Dog Trot Farms blog - You Should! You will laugh and cry as you follow along the adventures of Gladys (the Queen Chicken) and her girlfriends. And trust me - these gals get into some wild adventures!!

Julie (the Concierge at the Hen Hotel...) has a wonderful sense of humor and I now I know she has a wonderful flair for putting together a giveaway prize!

Just look at the goodies I received in the mail yesturday. There is a handy re-usable tote bag (perfect for rug hooking projects on the go), a sweet little wooden hen wall hanging, a trivet, a hanging bag holder, gorgeous colorful napkins, and eggwhite facial soap. I really wish you all had scratch-and-sniff screens because this soap smells heavenly. AND there is even a feather from Henny-Penny!
Thanks again Julie. I love my parcel! And I think I see some inspiration for a chicken rug.

Sand Dollar Island

The first group of family kids have left for home and the 2nd batch has arrived. The boys have been having a blast on the beach. Leo has become a master at collecting sand dollars.

On a trip several years ago he named one of the sand bars "Sand Dollar Island". And apparently he was correct. I generally find a handful each year, but nothing like this kid!

This picture is taken at Amherst Shore Beach at low tide....or as the kids call it - Hunting season! They spent hours down there and even calling them for supper and ringing the bell had no effect.

Here are the "Boys" heading back ----Finally! Supper was warming (drying out) in the oven for over an hour. (Not that they seemed to mind)This is what they carried back from their adventure. Poor Dillon's shirt was all stretched out but they were so proud.I gave up counting at 40 but they ended up with over 60 sand dollars. We spent the evening washing and bleaching them and laying them out on the deck to dry.

Not a bad haul eh! Once they are bleached out they are so pretty for decorating etc. I love them. I hope they left a few for me!

Raining Cats and Dogs

Well it has been raining for most of the past 2 days. Not much fun swinging in the hammock this weekend!

The first batch of Montreal family left this morning and then we received an email that the 2nd shift was heading this way. Mary and Tom (Vermont) have 6 children who I have spent every summer with since I was born. Before July ends 4 of the 6 of them will have passed through the cottage. I love the fact that they still consider Nova Scotia home even though they only spent summers here. And they want their children to grow up with a piece of their heart here.

The weather drove the cottagers in town today so I made supper here. And that also meant I had some time to get back to my latest rug. Since all that is left is the sky, I thought it was time to reveal it.

She is a Deanne Fitzpatrick pattern and was alot of fun to hook. I originally planned to give her away, but now I'm not sure. I might keep her.

Back to work tomorrow. Sigh........

Great start to the summer

Summer is officially here. Hot and sunny weather, a

beautiful beach,and family and friends around.

More family from Montreal arrived Thursday to join the

Vermont crew at the beach. This is where I have been spending my evenings this week. And very likely most evenings in July.

The tide is almost high, another hour and these shore rocks will be covered.
The kids had a great afternoon on the beach collecting shells and starfish.

They were very excited to show me their discoveries this evening.

And what better way to burn off the massive feast we consumed

than an evening walk along the shore.

I love summer at the beach!

Switching flowers

I think I need to change some of the flowers in this rug. My first thought was to make one flower bushes blueish purple for a little contrast and to compliment the band on the hat. (I just remembered I haven't let you see the whole rug yet - just pieces......so you don't really know what I'm talking about)

Well, guess what? I'm still not gonna show you the whole rug yet!! But here is another little piece.

Now this picture doesn't really prove my point because the purple-ish flowers are not popping like in this photo. They actually kind of fade into the green when you see it in person. So I pulled out 2 and tried them in the rosey colored wool. Much better I think. At least you can see them.
So I think tonights 10 minutes of hooking will be to remove the purple flowers. I hate re-hooking but I'm pretty sure it will be worth it.

A Better Place......

Mr. Squirrel has gone to "a better place". I will spare you the details but lets just say he can now frolic happily with all the little squirrels who came before him.

Thank you Elmer Fudd!

More hooking and some prep work

I've been hooking away on this new rug. It seems to be going very quickly. It's funny how some rugs seem to go on and on for too long, yet others seem to hook up in a matter of days. I love the colors in this one. And I have added a couple of different textures of yarn.

I did take a little break for some Retail Therapy. Big surprise eh! But there was a big sale and I did need some new summer pants and tops for work.

The rest of the weekend has been prepping for my family to arrive from Vermont. They come every summer to their cottage for a month. Imagine - they are 80 and 78 years old and still make the 13 hour drive themselves. I'll have lunch waiting for them tomorrow and will then follow them to their cottage and unpack the car for them. You would be AMAZED how much you can pack in a sedan. LOL

Hope everyones holiday weekend has been great so far.

A little squirrely

The couple who are renting my cottage stopped in to the house this afternoon to drop off the cheque. Naturally, I asked them if everything was OK.

Hmmmmm, she gave me a strange little look and said " Well, everything is great........except for the visitor we get in the morning." Huh?????

SQUIRREL !!!!

Awww geez! I must have looked like I was going to fall through the floor. Apparently this little "darling" finds a way inside only in the morning, takes a quick lap around and then disappears again.

She did quickly add that she thinks the "men folk" have figured out how to solve it. It appears it has chewed through some mesh at an air vent. All I can picture now is her husband and my neighbor acting like great hunters from history......Elmer Fudd comes to mind. Lol

I hope that Mr. Squirrel finds new accomodations - far, far away. Good luck Elmer!

A relaxing Canada Day

Surprisingly I woke up really early this morning. Kind of rare for a day off, but the sun was streaming in my window and I could hear the birds singing. And I'm not normally a "morning person".

Once I had my first cup of coffee poured I knew how I should start my day. I dumped the coffee in a travel mug and drove across town to the cemetary. It was a beautiful morning. I spent more than an hour walking around, visiting the graves of family and friends, pulling weeds and brushing away grass clippings.

It was so peaceful. A little "me time". There were several other people around, doing the same thing. Nobody talked, just a smile, nod or wave.

I came home in a great mood and made some waffles for Mom with blueberries and fresh strawberries. There were lots of Canada Day festivities downtown but Mom wasn't in a good frame of mind for crowds, so Auntie went out and I stayed here with Mom. We spend some time out on the back deck - me in the sun and her in the shade. I was surprised she didn't fuss or get restless. Seemed like the stars were aligned for a good day for me.

BBQ for supper. There is something about summer holidays and bbq hot dogs that go hand in hand. We ended the day by watching the fireworks from the back deck.

A perfect Canada Day!

Oh Canada

Happy Canada Day!