a favourite shade of blue

a favourite shade of blue

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Tuesday Sew day

Not a lot of sewing though but I did get most of the peach coloured butterfly appliqued. Remember the one that I appliqued off the diagonal and took all the pieces off the background, well it was that one and it
is right on the diagonal this  time. There is just the body left to applique and the antennae to embroidery. Someone asked how many I was going to do but I can't say. It is the choice of colours that intrigues me not the number of blocks. So you see I could do a lot of them. LOL.
Ione brought a beautiful birthday card to show at Community Quilts . It was made for her birthday by a friend of hers who lives in England, It opened up to three pages and the middle page flipped up to show the birthday message. The other pages were done in what I believe is called Tole. It takes a picture and build it up with more of the same pictures so there may be 5 layers, it was gorgeous. Happy Birthday Ione.
I had fun there today as usual. What a great bunch of ladies.!!
Tea at Betty's and some lovely little cakes, much discussion about the guild as there are money problems and membership issues as well. Surely very difficulties to solve.
Received a letter from Adam and Mac cannot leave the hospital , he needs constant doses of morphine. The brothers and Lisa and Katie are taking turns staying with him all night and they are sharing the daytime bed sitting as he gets upset if there is no one there that he knows whenever he wakes. From my experience with my sister's husband as he was  dying from cancer it appears to be exactly the same set of symptoms. Time is short for him. This week probably.I am very sad.
No embroidery today either, it appears that I am only able to do one thing a day as far as sewing is concerned. I know that many people can do way more than that but for me if I do that one thing I am unable to do more without ruing it. So I stay at one.
And I will knit instead. Lynn jocularly said today that since I can't seem to get those socks done she had to buy, yes buy, some. They were quite wonderful though. I should have taken a picture but then my camera was home sitting on the table. Not very useful there is it.
The rain came down in buckets all day, the trees were really happy, Ray said the leaves were laughing, so poetic isn't he. And the leaves WERE  happy, it has been so dry all summer and it is hard on them.
Good night ladies ....  No photos tonight.
Take care, sleep well.

Monday, August 30, 2010

spending my gift card

Good evening folks. Thanks to Angie for showing me the way to increase the size of the print in this blog.  See how it can be altered!  This is classed as normal, not for me I'm afraid.
My eyes are so sore from reading e mail, I think I may have to cancel a lot of my groups to give my eyes a rest. I keep complaining about this but it is real eye strain I think.
We went to McDonald's for lunch today as they had coupons. We can't resist a bargain it seems.
We also went to Fabricana to spend the gift card that Jean gave me. So clever of her to sort out where I buy my fabric and then call and have them send a me a gift card.  I bought some batting for the Redwork Sues and  a three more pieces of  African skin fabrics  just to round out the ones I have already cut. They are quite pretty I'll show them later.
WE came home and I did one more Sue but I am having so much trouble with the thread shredding during the stitch out.  It seems every three to four minutes it shreds and breaks. I have to remove the thread and re thread.  I did take the machine apart, clean out the whole bobbin area, oil the wick and add a new needle. No luck, it still shredded the thread. It is the first time I have had trouble. I know it isn't the machine but the thread. Unfortunately  I need to keep using this thread because I don't want to change the colour of the last two blocks, so I just need to suck it up and get on with it. LOL.
I had to go to the hospital later in the afternoon for a cat scan. It is a day of forgettings, I forgot the sheet wirh my medications and then forgot what Meds I was taking. I hate that :(
Sometimes I get a brain freeze .
We went for dinner after the hospital, I need the break LOL.
Have a good evening. That's my plan :>)

Sunday, August 29, 2010

almost forgot

Whoops , it amost slipped my mind about doing my blog tonight. Now that would be a tragedy LOL. Sometimes there isn't a lot to talk about but today there is. My ex husband has been admitted to the hospital with advance cancer throughout his body and brain. It is such a tragedy when things lke this happen. This disease is so, so awful and devastating to a person and his family, I feel so badly for my sons, particularly my eldest who has been there for the past three months helping his dad. He is sitting next to his bed in the hospital. All I can hope for is that the end is quick and merciful and that Adam can get back to his life. He has been heroic all during his dad's ordeal.
I am having a great deal of trouble seeing the print on this blog , is the print getting smaller or are my eyes getting worse. A big conundrum!! WELL I just fixed that ,moved the magnification to 125% HELLO!! ! Why didn't I think of that earlier. Loose brain LOL .
I did take time to do another Sue, this one she is walking her dog. I'll get right on to taking a photo.
Shortly :>).
Have you ever watched The Glades, not a bad show, we are watching it right now ,takes place in Florida, of course, it is called The Glades. it is a police story and is quite good. I like stories that take place in Florida as the light is great. I don't like dark shows where you can't see anything.
I just finished a great little detective mystery that takes place in the late 1800s in San Francisco and features an unusal woman lawyer who had to resist dociety and family to practice her chosen career. She is a great heroine, beautiful of cours, who isn't in books and very clever , another of course LOL. I wonder when they will write a story about a plain jane, plain but clever . I am dreaming aren't I? The book is called Scandal at Rincon Hill by Shirley Tallman, and is the fourth in a series of four mystery novels about Sarah Woolson. It is what I call a nice gentle murder mystery where the murders are almost incidental and not vividly described. Violence is at a minimum , just the fact that someone was killed, but not all the gory details.
Talking about gentle mysteries we have been watching a Canadian show called The Murdoch Mysteries which takes place in Toronto. I have not been a fan of shows coming out of Toronto but this one is a good one and worth the effort. It takes place in Victorian times and is quite true to the period.
Time out!!
Have a great evening!! Kalinihta as they say in Greek. I cannot write those Greek characters :<(

Saturday, August 28, 2010

early one morning

Up early , read the paper, ate, showered and set off down the road for Washington state. What were we thinking!!!! When we got near to the border not close mind you but in the vicinity, the roads were all lined up for miles. No way were we sitting in those lineups. I am sure the wait time would be four hours at least. So we took off for home but our route took us through the lovely little town of White Rock. We drove along the water front, took in the ocean which was so gorgeous , on up the hill through beautiful neighbourhoods with lovely homes and marvellous gardens. So the rest of the day was pretty normal , we shopped for groceries and went to the casino in New Westminster. I won $600 yippee.... I gave $300 to Ray. We always share our winnings. Then I went on to win another $150. Good DAY!! I am richer now:>).
When I have extra $$$ I put them in a cloth envelope and spend that money on whatever I want for myself or I take someone special to lunch, give $100 to one of the grandchildren who needs a bit of a lift.
We had a hotdog and chips at the casino for a bit of a late lunch. No dinner so far, maybe a light bit of something.
My hand work for tonight is going to be knitting the second sock. Yes I have finished the first one. I may even get them done somewhere in September, wouldn't that be nice. Then I want to make a pair of heavy duty socks for Katie as she will be moving up north to Fort MacMurray and has been talking about heavy socks.
It will be my pleasure to make them for her. There is lots of yarn in my basket.
Time to get to work LOL I'll put the yarn on the blog.Help me choose. I am inclined to the purple.
Have a great evening and a grand day tomorrow.
Bon soir!

Friday, August 27, 2010

tea party, not in Boston :>)

A friendly tea party with friends of course. It was a great time. These friends are my mothers. When I taught school the children of these ladies were in my classroom . All of them from one year to the next so I had all their kids. These wonderful moms used to volunteer and did so much for me. They made my life a lot easier . Even after their kids moved on to other grades they continued to volunteer in my classroom. We continued our friendships off the school yard and after 26 years are still going strong. One of the ladies became a grandmother this week, it is so exciting. The baby is a beautiful little girl .
In the morning we met Sam for breakfast, he was going to his grandfather's to see what he can do for him. Time is running short.
I did no sewing today at all not even washing fabric, no embroidery,nothing!!
We had to get our prescriptions today and were shocked at the cost, $840.00. Fortunaltely we paid just $15.00.... Between the government pharmacare programme and our own insurance they covered the rest. We are so fortunate!
I think I have run out of words but I could make some observations about a book I read or half a book I read. It had been recommended by other readers and I think it was mentioned in the newpaper as a good one. I thought not and only read half of it. To me it did not live up to its hype, was not funny , totally unrealistic and had a silly plot line. The characters were not real as far as I was concerned but that is JMHO.. I was so disappointed. I thought to find a new series I could follow. The book is Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich.
We are watching the football game and praying that the Lions can come out of their 8 game losses. HA!
My granddaughter Chelsea was off to Toronto today to start her university career at Humber University. My best wishes for her , it is a big adventure to leave the safety of home.
Best of the evening to you all.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

mirror, mirror on the wall

What the heck happened....LOL
L took a look in the rear view mirror in my car and nearly fainted. Age should not be a good enough reason to look this way :>)) I have changed since I was 75, not for the better. However time does have its benefits but I'll have to think long and hard about that one.
It was a full day here today, now that is a good thing about time, we still are able to go out and about. Ray's car had to go to the body shop again, I'd like to go to a body shop :<(, someone backed into his newly repaired bumper. Then he had to go to the dentist to have his tooth repaired that had been repaired not too long ago. Is the planet Mercury retrograde or what? Having to get everything done twice is a waste of time and money.
While he was away I embroidered another Sue, this one with a cat. I still have four to do to get them all done. There are only 10 of them , I always wonder why designers do ten blocks when twelve is a much better number. It makes more sense don't you think? I washed all the fabric that I bought the past few days, it is all folded and put away until I need it. The brown and red pieces will be used soon I hope.
A call came from Quebec to say that our new great grandbaby , due in January is a girl. There are five great grandchildren in Quebec and they are all girls. Here in Vancouver/Abbotsford Meg is also expecting in January but she and Louis don't want to know what the baby is until it is born.
I called Jean in Delaware tonight and we had a nice conversation. Both of us have the phone service where we have unlimited minutes so we can call each other any time. It is a great service. We talked to Lynn in Quebec today and Ray's sisters Marion and Gerry in Manitoba as well.
The heart quilt is packed and ready to be mailed to Quebec along with the froggie towels and some other frog paraphenalia.
I am sure you are not interested in our shopping trips today but Ray bought a scratch ticket and won $50. Mine was just worth $9, Too bad for me , so good for Ray.
Bon Soir folks, take care.



Then we had to go to our doctor fro prescription renewal

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Wow what a day...

At the chiropractor this morning 2 of my ribs were put back in place only to
come out again in the afternoon. I have to go back and get them fixed.Kathy and I went to Tom's for his great sale, we have such fun with Tom's wife Kerri. Her mom was there too getting in on the act :>) I see where Kerri gets her good sense of humour. I bought some nice yardage or should I call it meterage , who knows? I took some photos of the things I bought and some great items on the wall of Tom's shop so I'll put them up and you can see what I bought.
Kathy and I went for fish and chips before we came home.
When I got home there was an envelope with Fabricana in the corner, I thought it was an advertisement so did not rush to open it. After we came back from buying my 2011 car insurance $800 I opened that mail. Wow what a surprise , in the Fabricana envelope was a gift certificate from my dear friend Jean in Delaware USA. I was so thrilled and cannot say thank you enough times. Jean it was wonderful of you to think of me. Thank you!!
The bed came and went LOL. The mattress was fine but the box spring was not, way to shallow,they call it a low profile box spring , so it went back to the store and another will be delivered , a high profile one. So we had taken the bed down early in the morning and then put it back together before
dinner.
I got an e mail for Adam, he is coming back tonight around midnight
I think as his dad has taken a turn for the worse. He had not planned to return for at least another week. Lisa's birthday in the last day of the month and he wanted to be with her for it as it is a big one for her. She will be coming up later and they plan a little celebration then.
Ray had to go to the dentist, a filling had fallen out on that tooth he had the root canal done on. He goes back tomorrow to get it filled. He has
had such trouble with those old wisdom teeth, well at least that one.
I did another redwork Sue after the bed was made. Who would think I had that much energy after such a busy day!! Done is good!!
That's all for tonight, take care.:>)

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

gaga for gaga

Watching Mentalist , I'll be back. Commercial :>)
Vancouver was entertained by Lady Gag last night and she put on an amazing show according to the entertainment news including setting a piano afire on stage. Shame really I hate to see a good piano go to waste. Gaga reminds me of Madonna in her prime before time and tide carried her away and ambition to become a dramatic actress took her to another hemishpere. Outrageous costumes, morphing from one persona to the next- profanity. Gaga the lady gave quite a show, she'll get very rich from her art. In the paper they call it performance art and it sure was/is. :>)
That's enough of Entertainment Tonight LOL>
I had a good day sewing, got both upper wings of my butterfly appliqued and the bottom wings pinned in place.
Betty Lu was there with her latest masterpiece a very large quilt that she had appliqued great streams of water on , huge lily pads on which she used a bleach pen to draw the lines on the pads and embroidered silver thread dragon fly wings, beautiful work. I wonder if she would let me take a photo , maybe not since she is going to enter it into a show on the east coast of the USA. It is a great privilege to sit next to her and watch her work.
Ray made me a great sandwich for lunch, egg salad , my favourite and V8 to drink. What a good husband he is. Very virtuous drinking V8, 2 servings of vegetables LOL.
More fun at Community Quilts , they had a great Show and Tell , do every week. The ladies make some lovely quilts for the hospitals.
At Betty's we had tea and cakes. The conversation was interesting and not just about quilting. One topic of conversation was about the Louisiana Purchase and the inability of the French to hold onto the lower half of the then United States. The history of Louisiana is quite fascinating.
I had intended to make another Sue after I came home but was sleepy so I had a nap. So no Sue today. And no photo either.
Take care folks, good night!

Monday, August 23, 2010

it's the economy stupid There I got one.

No title as of yet but I am sure I will think of one. Our lunch with friends was a great visit and we have decided that after they come back from their trip to Reno we will go down to the state of Washington for our next lunch. Isn't it interesting that crossing the border to another country which is esentially the same as the country we have just left makes it exciting . Crazy aren't we?
Ray and I went chuffing around the mall , ended up in Sears where they are renovating and there was not a thing we wanted to buy. It is quite a shame how many stores have been closed in the mall, whole sections are empty. There are still lots of shops there but so many have gone under. I think that the rents in big malls are so outrageous that small companies cannot keep up , especially when customers cut down on their spending. When the two collide it is like meteors crashing and it all explodes. It is a shame. We need business to keep the economy rolling along. It is a partnership between business and clients.
China is in big trouble when a traffic jam can last 9 days, yes days not hours. The price of economic success. I am sure on the economy today. So go out folks and spend your money LOL.
When we arrived home I cut come fabric. I had bought a pack of 10" squares of African prints from Keepsake Quilting and so cut them into 5" squares. I got the whole package cut but by then my legs were sore so I sat down for a while. I'll cut the animals out another day. See I can only do so much in a day , such a shame. Oh I did iron and cut some of the background fabric for the Sues nad prepared a piece of fabric to do another Redwork Sue, but it is still sitting on the machine waiting to be started.
Then I made dinner. Adam brought us over some fresh caught ling cod and although it was frozen at the site it was still delicious. I love ling cod and it is like all other cod very difficult to get as it has been over fished commercially.
Tonight I am doing nothing LOL. Maybe reading a bit but that is all.
Have a good evening and take care. :>)

Sunday, August 22, 2010

stuck thumb

Last night my thumb got stuck... it was the weirdest experience. My thumb was laying along side my hand and I could not move it. So weird !!!! I actually had to move it with my other hand. It did not want to be moved but finally the thumb went back to its normal position. Ray said it was like his trigger finger. I have never experienced anything like this before. I wonder what causes a thing like that.
We bought a new mattress and box spring yesterday , I forgot to mention that. It is a lovely bed and we needed it as the one we are getting rid of had a few sprung springs. The company we bought it from, Sleep Country, has good prices and the best thing is they take the old mattress away and refresh it if possible to give to someone who really needs one and can't afford to buy a new one. That is so good!! I am looking forward to sleeping on it. My old one was very comfortable, though old, and we thought it was time.
Have you ever wondered as you get older if you have Alzheimers because you are forgetting things. I always say I do not forget but the mental Rolodex is very full and it takes longer to locate things. But if you wonder you can look up the 7 symptoms of Alzheimers to find out where you stand and I DO NOT have Alzheimers Whew!! Haha!
No sewing today, I have been unwell and had to spend a bit of time this afternoon in bed , very dizzy and unstable on my feet. So I am resting. If I wanted to do sewing I would have to bring out the ironing board , iron my fabric and cut some more blocks. I was certainly not up for that. Tomorrow I will be better!!
This week I want to cut up some fabrics for a new quilt, I think it will be the jungle fabrics and African animals one. I have the fabric for it . Watch for it LOL. But don't stay up.:>))
I put up a small towel in the bathroom that I had embroidered when I first began this wonderful hobby. Of course I did not know all the tricks of embroidery and it sure has no resemblance to my later projects. I have a friend from my original embroidery classes which by the way did not give me this tip, she was a member of that class and a lovely embroiderer who told me to add the clear washaway stabilizer to the top of any towel I was doing and that would keep the stitches from sinking into the pile of the towel. It was the single most important tip I have received on the subject. My towels have been featured in Emblibrary Showcase and complimented by the owners of that site. So if you want good looking towels do this on any high pile piece you are embroidering.
Hmm long dissertation and I didn't think I had anything to say. More fool me. Haha...
Good evening!!
Take care.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

a new Sue

A gift from Sue to you LOL. It is so much fun embroidering these little redwork designs. It is my first time doing redwork and I really like it. Not withstanding that I do love the regular coloured pieces. For the redwork I use one piece of tearaway stabilizer and my fabric. The worst part of using tearaway stabilizer is trying to get it to lay flat along with the fabric and then to get it centred. It comes off my roll kind of rolled up and that makes it hard to handle . I guess that is because I am getting past the middle of the roll. Maybe I should run the iron over it. I would sure like to find a place to get some more of these rolls. The shop I bought them from is no longer doing retail. So I am having to buy those little packages of Sulky. Oh I think I have made this complaint before.
Jim called tonight and Rick came up from Calagary so Jim could work on his truck. That is good of him, he is so clever with anything mechanical. I was happy they were having a good time together :>)
Adam got home to Louisiana all right, he called last night. He will be back in a couple of weeks and Lisa will follow him later.
I found a new sock pattern on the internet today ,saved it for future reference. I think It will be a while before I do any more knitting though. It is easier to do in the winter, So it is winter for me and my yarn :>))
I want to start another quilt but have not come up with anything yet. I keep thinking of those Chinese Coins which I have seen on other blogs. Some of them are really lovely. YES that is what I'll do next. Not this week though , once again too busy, next week too. But September will be here soon.....
Have a great evening.

Friday, August 20, 2010

new light bulbs

How prosaic is that.... we had to order light bulbs from a lighting store for the bathroon. I like the old incandexcent bulbs because I can see better but they are hard to find these days, at least the large globe ones are. The order came in and we went to Richmond to get them. Also trilight incandescent bulbs are hard to find so if you do find them stock up. I sure need the clarity of these bulbs to read, do my crosswords, knit, hand sew, look at magazines , cut the jump stitches on embroidery and threads on quilts. Eyes get weaker as you age and if it is too dark they do not see.
Knitting is difficult when it is too hot or for that matter so is hand quilting work. It is hot to sit under a quilt and hands may perspire if knitting, that makes the needles slip and drop stitches- not fun to go back and pick up stitches as any knitter can tell you. I am going to make up a sock pattern some time soon- that should be a challenge LOL.Wait for it!!
Ray and I are alone now , no family here . Adam left early this morning to go back to Louisiana for a short time. His taxi came at 5:00 AM. Neither of us even heard him leave, we were both surprised at that. He was sure quiet.
I did enjoy the opportunity to have him here.
I think I'll do another redwork block tonight WEEELL maybe, I'll see.
Have a nice evening!!
Buena notte..

Thursday, August 19, 2010

I can't remember

I can't remember what on earth I did this morning. Maybe writing about it, haha, will remind me.
Ah yes, see it works. After I did all my usual stuff Adam and I went to New Westminster to pick up Katie. Adam had her truck , she needed it to go over to her granfather's- are you confused yet. I have to say I was but it cleared up after a while. Katie came up for a short visit which was lovely. She had gone for a job interview this morning which was for a job up north in Fort MacMurray, she was pumped for the job which was something to do with research on HIV patients. Exactly what it is about I have not quite figured out but she was so hoping to get the job. While she was here her phone rang to tell her that she DID get the job. Haha much singing and happy dancing around here. We are all proud of her and happy for her too. She leaves in the middle of September. We'll miss her but her life needs to start.. Good money when you work up north too.
Adam went out for his long walk and later we all went to the Keg for dinner ,Prime Rib, baked potato, stuffed mushrooms and gravy. Tasty mmmm.
Now Adam is off to visit with his brother Matthew and we are watching TV. Oh yes I forgot , I did a bit more FMQ on the little quilt, finished the blocks.. Now to just add the binding and off it goes back to Community Quilts on Tuesday.
Shall I finish that sock tonight, it is almost done but I am so lazy, meat will do that to you.
Have a nice evening folks.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

full day

I'm late tonight. I had lunch out today with three friends, Rae, Marilyn and Muriel, friends form our embroidery group that closed down. It is good when you keep in touch.
Before I met theladies I went to Fabricana for some iron on stabilizer, I am desperate to find something more reasonably priced than Sulky. I bought some red for the sashing of my little redwork Sues and of course it is red.
After lunch I came home and embroidered one more SBS, she is riding a bike, so cute.
Then I cleaned up all my sewing things, put the embroidery machine away, unplugged the iron and put that in its holder , took the ironing board back to its corner, and cleared off the table of thread holders, scissors etc.
I took my memory stick upstairs to the PC where the designs are stored and added the rest of the redwork Sues to it.
Then my son Peter came and we had dinner, just as we finished Adam came in and he had dinner too. I had made hot sausages with fried cabbage,mushrooms, celery, garlic and onion. It was very good , even Adam who is not a vegetable person ate it and enjoyed it. Big surprise !!!
We talked about his dad and how things were going. He is going back to Louisiana to give Lisa some support as both her parents have health issues, but he'll be back in 2 weeks.
Later in the evening I watched a documentary about the lost girls of India. It was about the baby gorsl who have been abandoned and the ones who have been aborted.It is a sad tale and is beginning to cause difficulties in that country where there are not enough women for the over abundance of men to marry.
It is time to sign off, photos tomorrow.
Good night folks!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

The Brick Layer

Noah Boyd is the author of this engrossing book. It is an FBI mystery about a rogue FBI agent who was fired for doing things his way.He has settled into the simple life of a bricklayer.
Then a huge case comes along involving the FBI , a extortion plot, targeted killings of noted people unrelated to the plot but intrinsic to the "game"
It involves millions of dollars gone missing and which the FBI is seemingly all at sea. In comes Stephen Vail who allows that he has to do things his way and not have any one telling him what to do, no bosses. As the ones in charge think he is the only ex agent/agent who can solve the problem they agree to his terms. He then acquires a female agent Kate Bannon as a partner , she becomes the romantic interst and supplies the sexual tension almost from the beginning. Three FBI agents killed and 5 million dollars missing,danger all round and superman Vail finally solves the mystery after several extremely dangerous assignments with a very clever killer. You begin to believe that , oh no, I can't tell you that LOL, read the book. It is one of those stories that will keep you up half the night unable to put the book down.I enjoyed reading this one and would read another of Boyd's books.
My sewing group today - remember that butterfly that I put on the beckground the wrong way, a pretty peach one that I was going to throw away?
I decided to take off the applique pieces and sew them onto another background block, that's what I did at my Tuesday group. I felt very satisfied having done that - it takes so little to make me happy my grandson once said to me as I rapturized over a bed of beautiful yellow tulips. LOL.
It was very hot today , the kind of hot that makes your clothes stick. It was difficult for me and although I did go to Community Quilts and to Betty's for tea I left early to come home, lay down and fell asleep for 2 hours under my FAN!!
I should be good to stay up reading until late tonight!
Stay cool if you can folks! Thanks for reading.
Bon Soir!

Monday, August 16, 2010

OOO my back hurts

and for no reason that I can see unless it was from sitting in the hospital on a hard chair waiting to see Ray's specialist. His very wonderful Rheumatologist left town, nothing to do with Ray , but I have felt that way myself sometimes LOL The new doctor was very nice and said he had been the teacher of our wonderful guy so that made us like him of course.
Someone on my flyladies list asked what kind of exercise we were all doing today . I said going to the hospital :>) It takes a lot of walking to get from where you park the car to where you want to go. We started off on 12th Ave and ended up on 10th Ave which was where Ray's dctor was. Then find a wash room , more walking and the gift shop, more walkingand climbing up and down stairs, finding to the coffee shop. We spent a bit at the gift shop. Ray found some great frogs for Lynn in that shop and I found the body powder that I have checked for in every other store in town. I am very happy about both things.
I did a bit more FMQ on the little baby quilt this morning before I went to have coffee with my friend Paula and then to the hospital. But that was all I did in the sewing department today. It is really hot and that debillitates me so I had a lay down rest but not a nap.
We are in a high to extreme fire hazard again and since we actually live in the midst of a forest in the middle of the city it is no wonder we are in a dangerous zone right now. I think I have talked about that before in this blog so enough said..
Tomorrow I will do a book review for those of you who are lovers of mysteries. Watch for it!
Stay cool folks and rest easy.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

the race is not always to the swift

nor the battle to the strong, sometimes it is brains over brawn... but in my house today there were no brains, not mine anyway. There was no swiftness either :>)
After spending the afternoon reading I thought to make another SBS redwork block . I started it and halfway through, there was a most awful screeching . Of course I was not at the machine, are we ever at the machine when it goes wrong. Off comes the hoop , only to discover the first idiotic thing I did today, the bobbin was empty and this machine had a bobbin reminder saying time to change bobbins. But I know more than the machine and I was using rayon thread so the bobbin sebsor is a bit off and I just take it a bit longer. Then stupid #2, Shift the fabric a bit in the hoop to straighten it. NO!! That threw the design off centre. But sometimes that is not too , too awful so I finished the stitchout. #3 Sprayed the design to remove the blue centre mark that I used the blue pen for only to see the fabric shrink up a bit on both blocks. AARRRGGGGHHHH, You know what comes next, right? I cut the fabric without washing it up first and I had several block pieces already cut . My brain has been out for a while from the heat I guess. :<( So the blocks that I got ready are now washed and in the dryer. First smart thing I did today!!
On the other hand I did do some FMQ on my baby quilt just two more blocks left to do. There are only 6 blocks LOL. When I do this little quilt it hurts my shoulders and hands, it is very hard to move for some reason and yes the feed dogs are down. It has a flannel backing and that seems to be difficult for my machine.
I'll do those two tomorrow after we come home from the hospital where Ray has to see a new rheumatologist as his wonderful one moved to Kamloops. I hope this one is as good and as nice as the first one.
No more sewing for me today , maybe some knitting....
Have a nice evening and stay out of the heat. Kalispera!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Nature's Inspiration | Nature's Inspriation Movie

Nature's Inspiration | Nature's Inspriation Movie

This is a beautiful inspirationsl video. I hope you enjoy it.
Hugs
Nan

joan rivers

Joan Rivers : A Piece of Work. Truer words were never spoken!!
This is a documentary biography of the lady in the title. Or did I use the term lady incorrectly? However she is a funny lady in my opinion and makes some hilarious remarks albeit quite risque. If you are able to laugh at this remark of hers good for you, you have a sense of the ridiculous and truth. So here goes, Don't go any further if you have sensibilities that do not go for the crudeness of Joan Rivers howwever it made me laugh at the truth of it. I do not want to offend you.
She said of the politically correctness going on about how men really prefer a brainy woman over beauty in women. And I quote "Nobody ever put their hand up a woman's dress looking for a library card" LOL
There enough of Joan's jokes.
I really wanted to sew today but instead spent my day shopping for groceries and cleaning up my upstairs computer. As well I did all the jigsaw puzzles that had not gotten done in the past week. I try them out on this laptop but it takes forever with the little pad that moves the arrow around. It is much easier with the mouse, so I save them up. And I checked out my embroideries. Can you believe that I look at my designs and do not stitch them out. What a waste of time. But my excuse is that I neeed some iron on stabilizer for the SunBonnet Sue redwork designs. I used tear away and Spray on the first one but think I'll get a better look with the iron on. I'll let you know when I get some of it which will be on Wednesday when I go to Richmond for lunch with my friends.
I decided to embroidery one more block on white fabric rather than the red print. Also I did a bit of FMQ on the little heart hospital quilt.
That's all for now I think, have a great evening.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Van Gogh

I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process.
Vincent Van Gogh
I have been thinking of Van Gogh today as my friend with whom I had lunch has tinnitis and she said it was painful at times as well as extremely irritating because of the ringing in the ears.
I have read that Van Gogh had severe tinnitus, sometimes called "Terror in the Ear" and suffered greatly from this disease. It has been said that was the reason that he cut off his outer ear or as I have also read the lobe of his right ear. In my fanciful way I think that people back then did not know that there was an inner ear and so Van Gogh cut off the outer ear to minimize the ringing. Now I did say I was fanciful so do not take me at my word on this :>))
Another story is that he cut off his ear to give to a prostitute, sort of like Lend an Ear. Lots of interesting stories surrounding Van Gogh.
The friend I mentioned was saying today that she always said that we had been friends for 40 years but she would have to change that to 50 years now LOL.
It was good to visit with her. However I was in bad shape today and walking was quite difficult, my legs were so shaky. But before I came home I had to take Ray to pick up his car at the body shop. And then we went to the mall for a coffee.
When I came home I went to bed for a nap, same as yesterday. It must be the heat interfering with my heart rythmns and breathing. It is supposed to be hot for the next week or so.
I have not done any work today either, no energy for that. But I did look at my fabric and thought it was pretty :>)) Does thinking qualify?
I like Van Gogh's comment at the beginning of this blog. We, as quilters can truly relate to it.
The end.
Have a good evening! Buona Notte!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Did you know

More than half of coastline of the entire United States is in Alaska? HUH!!!
There is so much useless information on the internet but I like useless information. I call it trivia :>))
Tiger Woods had a better day today, see what did I tell you....
Did you see the 10 year old girl on TV with a voice like Susan Boyle, absolutely amazing!!!! Jacquie Ivanko is her name.
Perseid meteor shower tonight , from 2:00 to 4:00 AM here in Vancouver B.C.
Okay enough trivia :>))
I had a lung capacity function test today, not useless information LOL. My breathing has been bad on some days so the test. Apparently my lungs are really good but I have a bit of asthma that can be exaggerated by air conditions such as pollution and walking where people have been smoking.
Now nothing can be done about either condition so I need to take a puffer with me.
We went to a new restaurant for lunch today , it just opened, called Stone Grill. it was a nice looking restaurant and the food was nice but not fantastic. However the prices were nice and not out of this world. So they kind of went together. That is a lot of nice LOL. Would we go back , maybe, yes, but I think I still would go to my old restaurant where we really like the food and the price is reasonable.
I am afraid there was no sewing here at all today but tonight I may hand stitch the second label on my quilt. It has been a poor week for sewing in this house. How can it not be good when we have been out every day with company. My next week is filling up with luncheon dates too but these are friends not family. Not that family can't be friends, they certainly can.
This comng week I hope I can finally get to my sewing groups on Tuesday, I have missed the past three weeks due to visitors.
The Mentalist is on , got to go haha.
Have a good evening.
Kalispera!!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

grandson&great and a weird book

Good day for family, lunch with grandson Aaron, great grandson Adam , Adam's mom Kim, son Jim, Ray and me. It was great to see them all but particularly wonderful to see little Adam. I rarely get that opportunity as he lives in Louisiana. Sadly as it is seldom we see them he did not remember Ray and I from the last visit. But now he is eight he may remember us the next time which I hope will be in the fall. If all goes well Jim will take us to Louisiana in October. I gave him some birthday money as his birthday is in September , so maybe he will remember me next time LOL.
As for the rest of the day I have had a headache at the rear of my skull for the past two days so after lunch I came home took some tylenol ones and went to bed. it was still a bit sore when I got up but it seems to have settled down now.
My sewing sits neglected and sad as I have not been able to work. Hopefully tomorrow and maybe tonight I can get some had stitching done. Although I don't really feel like doing anything.
I recently read a book entitled I Am Not A Serial Killer. It is not that good a book but the comcept kept me at it until the end. It is written in the first voice by a 15 year old boy who believes that he is a serial killer , who wants to murder and who is convinced that he has a monster inside him. It advances to a real mad man and real monster who murders for body parts that he needs to replace his aging body parts. You can see how weird this one is and not really a book many would finish. I did but feel I got nothing out of it; there was the element of fantasy which I felt was not really part of a genuine mystery/murder novel, the mystery was not truly a story of much depth and the characters were superficially drawn. Not recommended!
Time out folks, have a good evening!!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

another day at sea

Stevenson open boat again , the one to where we took Adam and Lisa and which Matthew captained. Just a small boat so a small captaincy :>) but it was fun for Jim , Ray and I . The day was lovely and the air fresh and I got a pain in my neck :<( maybe from all that fresh air. It was good to see Matthew and was saw Chelsea too and she was the ticket seller. Everyone has a title LOL.
It was good. We had fish and chips in a paper open boat. At least that is what I call those little paper dishes. When we were young we went to Stanley Park, swam in the salt water pool, ate fish and chips with malt vinegar and salt. Heavenly!! I do love the ocean and all its smells.
We left Steveston about 2:30 and got caught in some heavy traffic going onto the bridge and also on the bridge. At the off ramp of the bridge there were two cars exchanging insurance information. The car behind hit the bumper of the car in front , another little accident on the busy streets of Vancouver.
My grandson who lives in Louisiana and his son, my great grandson , Little
Adam are here in town. He called but the phone call was dropped. He did manage to get out that he would like to see us tomorrow and then we lost the connection. I hope he calls back tonight. He was over on Vancouver Island on a fishing trip with his dad and grandfather, I wonder how that went with Mac so sick. However it is his last fishing trip and he loves to fish so I hope all went well. I can hardly wait to see my great grandson, I so rarely see him. He won't know who I am , sad to say. He is already 8 years old.
I did no sewing today. After we came home I read my e mail and then made dinner. Oh I did a bit this morning, practiced free motion. It took me so long to get that foot on the machine so I think I'll leave it on for a few days and practice some more.
Jim and I are going to Dairy queen soon so it is Good night for now.
Bon Soir!

Monday, August 9, 2010

$$$

The young man who hit our car met us at Starbucks and handed over the money for the repairs. Ray had gotten an estimate and the man gave him all the money. He was so apologetic but we forgave him :>)
We went on our mall walk afterward and I got around the whole mall this time, it is a large mall and some days I can only go half way. We did not shop at all but I plan to soon. I want to weed out my tops, you know how they get with little lint balls on them, those ones are going out in a hurry LOL.
When we got home I sewed the label on the heart quilt. That took a while but amost of you know that. I have little to talk about today for some reason.
We were expecting my granddaughter and her husband for dinner but Lewis was not feeling very well so they said next week would work. But Jim, Ray and I went to Mr. HO's for Chinese. As usual it was wonderful, this restaurant is the best one as far as I am concerned and the staff are universally pleasant. So it is a good dining experience.
After dinner Jim played around with my laptop sending some things that were a big bother to the executioner. He also arranged things so thatI cooould look at embroidery designs, something I could not do on this laptop before. So I am happy.
My evening plan it so knit...
You have a great evening folks. Hasta luego!!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

stay at home mostly :>)

A busy time today ,just settled down for the night and it is after 9:00.
We worked all morning cleaning and I did about 7 loads of wash. For some wonderful reason I had energy today. This afternoon I worked on my sewing, finished the binding on my quilt and did the second label. At first I thought to do the label on my sewing machine but after setting it up , time consuming that it is, I stitched it out and the lettering was awful, the D, B,and O did not close at the bottom and the F was awful. Probably something to do with the
tension but I was not in the mood for fixing. Back to the embroidery machine and to stting up another label. More time spent. But that one worked out fine.
The I cut up some fabric for appliqueing my butterflies and for a Redwork design I wanted to do. The fabric for the redwork was a small red print on cream . I have never done Redwork before and did not realize the design was all cross stitch so the red print showed through and I was not pleased with the stabilizer. Now I have a question in to an expert who has done this design as which stabilizer to use. I'll use a plain white for the BG.
After dinner I cut all the jump stitches and removed the excess stabilizer from the label and the redwork. Just as I was finishing my son Jim came in from his dad's so we went out for coffee and he had dinner. We talked about what was happening over there.
That was my full day and I feel that I did get a lot done. And wasted time too on the one label and the SBS redwork but that is the way it goes.
Patti, thanks for you response. I usually try and answer in the comments of this blog so look for it LOL.
Good night folks.....
Take it easy.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Oh I love a rainy night

It's true I do love the rain and this rain especially as it waters the trees. We live in a very forested ,treed area of the city and when it is dry for a long time the park at the back of us which is just trees and paths becomes very dry. Now that I think of it many areas of the city have lots of trees and so are in danger during a drought. Fires are so easy to start under these conditions so I worry until the rain comes. There was a fire in the city right next to us this past week, it has lots of trees too , this is the second fire in a residential area in that city. There was one last year also.
Remember the other day when I mused about the smoke coming from Russia as well as from the interior of B.C.
In the newspaper on Thursday a columnist also made a note that smoke could ride on the air currents as they come across the Pacific. The pictures of the smoke in Moscow show how terrible it is there. It is so thick that you can scarcely see through the smoke.
We were hit by another car today, this guy was coming out of a driveway without looking and on his phone. We saw him and stopped but he was looking the other way and crossing the street at an angle so he hit us on our bumper. Not much damage to our car but more to his and not enough of an impact to hurt any of us. He was in a hurry to get to a wedding and get this, he gave us his phone number and drivers licence, said get an estimate and call me when you have it and I'll pay to get it fixed. Weird !!!
Once again we are watching the B.C. Lions :<((( So early on in the game I decided to quilt on a preemie heart quilt for the preemie unit of St.Paul's Hospital. It is very small so I got all the major lines done in a very pretty stitch. I always have trouble deciding what to do with the borders as I am not good at free motion. We , the members of the group are told it is good practice but I hate to do bad work on a quilt that someone took the time to make and that is to be given away. I just finished doing several loads of washing so am done for the night. Take care:>)

Friday, August 6, 2010

sock pattern for Patti

Patti I use size 2 1/2 short bamboo needles. I find with the bamboo neeedles the stitches do not slip off so easily. And I use 5 needles,the stitches are then evenly distributed. The yarn is just sock yarn that any yarn shop sells. The clerk can help you with that. Be sure and buy good wool not cheap stuff. You'll need 2 small balls or one large one. The pattern is called Dublin Bay Socks. It has a pattern along the sides but I just knit it for the most part.
I think you can find it by googling. It says to cast on 72 stitches which is 18 on each needle. The pattern calls for 24 stitches on each of three needles but that is when you are using just four needles instead of five. If you want more information you can reach me at nanb@shaw.ca. Good luck!!
We were away in the states all day ,left at 10:00 and came home 12
hours later. We used the Nexus pass on the way down and got through the bprder in 5 minutes. The regular line was over an hour wait. Coming home we were unaware that the Nexus line was closed at 7:00 but a nice guy let us into the line , so we were not long getting through.
We went to the Skagit casino and then to the Silver Reef and we came home with more money that we left with . How is that for a good day!!
We saw two deer feeding on the grass across from the casino. I wanted to take a photo of them but Ray is one of those men who stops for nothing but gas and food LOL.
It is time to go, I hope your evening has been good.
Bon nuit!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

smoke all around

It is very hazy today , the smoke from the forest fires has drifted all the way down to the Lower Mainland. There are so many fires burning right now. Russia also has a huge number of fires that are devastating that country. I am wondering if that smoke is also drifting this way on the weather currents. Just a thought.
Watching the Mentalist right now so I may have periods of inattention to this blog LOL I really like this show. And I do like Simon Baker. Interestingly he was born in Tasmania , Australia. No accent!!
I went to my podiatrist this morning and when I got there the receptionist said, "Mrs. Boudreau, your appointment is for tomorrow", I blanked out for a minute thinking this office is not open on Saturday. I was out by a day in the week. That is what happens when you are always on holiday, don't know one day from the next.LOL! However the receptionist fit me in. I have neuropathy in my feet and need to go there to get my nails cut. The toes are so sensitive that I cannot do them myself and the doctor checks my feet out to make sure they are all right. Today he put some polysporin on four of the toes as they may be potential problem sites for infection. So it pays to pay :>))
I did no sewing or embroidering today and won't tomorrow as we are going to the states for the day.
However I will be knitting on the sock, the heel has been done and turned, the side stitches have been picked up and I have started to decrease them. I tpook a picture of my progress. The part where the needle is sitting across is a stitch called Eye of Partridge and the heel is turned at the bottom of this piece of knitting.
I have some fabric to wash tonight. I bought some adorable redwork Sunbonnet Sues and the fabric to do them on. Embroidery, not hand work, Can't wait to get started. I still have my leaf series to finish so I will be busy. For some reason I cannot seem to piece and embroider at the same time. Of course the embroidey machine needs to be watched constantly in case it take into its head to do something other than what is has been programmed to do :>) It has done that before , well the 300E did that but this new 350E has behaves really well.
That all for tonight folks. Have alovely evening.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

sometimes fun can be work!!

And that's the truth....
My embroidery today was a mess. First I started a tea towel for Lynn my stepdaughter with a frog on it. I discussed the frogs with this blog yesterday so no need to reiterate.
Today's frog was one that had to be turned because of the size and it was already the wrong way so I turned it 180' . Clever right? NOT!
First towel started in the wrong place , that is whne I realized it needed to be turned. Because I really wanted to get it done today , HELLO!! I started on another towel , turned the design only to discover when I came to the last part which was the lettering that it was backwards. NO!! I was so mad since once again the stitching had started. Off the hoop came but not any of the stabilizer nor the towel from the hoop and in that awkward position I began to slit the stitches. It takes quite a while to undo embroidery stitches as those of you who embroider will know. At one point I thought that I may be able to leave some of it and just embroider over it. It worked so that was the one good thing about today's work.
While sitting at the machine as it worked I undid the stitches on the other towel so in the end after a lot of extra work all was completed. Now I have two tea towels for Lynn's parcel.
That was my afternoon but earlier in the day we had to visit my sweet techie where I bought the laptop and camera. All I wanted was a 2 GIG memory stick. Not a very big purchase. We had lunch at Tim Horton's, nothing very intersting.
We shopped for fruits and vegetables at the green grocers.
And I spent time on the upstairs computer,a PC, playing with the embroidery designs, adding some of them to my stick and removing others. Takes time to keep things organized LOL.
Now I am ready to relax snd maybe do some knitting.
Have a great night folks.
Bon Soir!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

sometimes you do

And today I did. Jim is here and he taught me how to text on my new phone. I wanted to learn that because as Jim says , if you want to talk to anyone under 30 you need to text. Well I have lots of grandchildren so I thought it was a great idea. So now I am a texter!!! Another skill for the old girl!!
I texted my son Adam because his phone bill is so high while he is here in Canada that I thought it would be good to text him.
I did not work or sew today.
When Jim came in last night he and I talked until 1:30 AM and then I read until I feel asleep. He needed to talk about his dad. Tomorrow morning he is heading over to Sechelt to see him.
But today we headed out to Home Depot where the guys , Ray and Jim bought man toys and I went to Staples where I bought nothing but I enjoy a stationery store, lots of nice pens, pencils and other goodies.
We had lunch at Wendy's then it was off to the chip shop where Jim gets his electronic bits and pieces. He always goes there when he comes home.
I was very tired when we got back so I had a nap then made dinner. We plan to go to Dairy Queen in a little while.
Right now we are watching Fifth Estate on the downfall of Lehman Bros. My it is such a complete fraud that was perpetrated on the old and the poor by the rich. The landscape of the USA is littered with those unfortunate people who lost their homes. I have seen this before when the interest rates in Canada went up to 17%. Many people here lost their homes when their mortgage payments went up so high they could not meet them. We got caught in that mess at 14% but we stuck it out, fortunately we were able to with some sacrifice, but believe me it was not easy. Now we have no mortgage thank goodness. It was always a worrisome thing when we had one.
Well there it is, my thoughts on money :>))
Have a good evening. Bon Soir!!

Monday, August 2, 2010

time to blog

After 3 weeks of not getting mail from my friend Jean in Delaware we or I should say she finally got it solved and now I can get mail and photos from her.
That's a good thing. We called back and forth, good thing we both have the phone plan that allows for unlimited international calls.
After a long walk this AM/PM over the noon hour in the mall I was a bit tired. Although I would love to walk outside the streets here are lined with trees and commensurate with trees are their roots that lift up the sidewalks, it is really a danger for me to walk on the streets, easy to fall and break these old bones. My doctor told me "Do Not Fall" so that is why we walk in the mall. More than you wanted to know LOL.
My son Jim called to say he was at Rick's , Rick was cooking dinner for him . He did not come straight through as the freeway was totally clogged with holidayers returning home from the long weekend. He will be going to see his dad tomorrow. Mac has been told he has from 2 weeks to 2 months to live. What a frightening diagnosis and such a dreadful end of his days. Brain cancer and cancer throughout , no wonder the time is short. He hopes to make his 80th birthday early in October.
After getting off the phone with Jean I embroidered a tea towel for my stepdaughter Lynn who lives in Quebec. She loves frogs so we pick up little forggie things for her. Ray has a box going and wanted me to make a tea towel. I did!!. It is the cutest design, just makes you smile when you look at it. Another special from Emblibrary, who have such great designs. I hope to get another one started after I finish this blog.
Tonight on my sock my plan is to turn the heel and pick up along the sides. Hmm I should be really busy, think I overplanned- a visitor, an embroidery and sock knitting. Think I'll make it LOL
Time to get started if I am ever to finish.
Have a great evening!!
Buona Sera.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

"It was the best of times

It was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdon, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity", so begins the Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Written in 1859 or is that published in 1859, "in the superlative degree of comparison"..
And so begins the French Revolution featured in the book. We watched this movie in black and white this afternoon. I have read the story on a couple of occasions in my lifetime as it is a story of great evil on one hand and cruel retribution on the other. The storming of the Bastille by the peasantry July 14,1789 is the defining feature of this movie. One is compelled to cheer for the revolutionaries , yet later on in the story to decry the viciousness of the same rebels.
The symbolism of Darnay and Carton as mirror images of each other , the one good and the other bad, the eternal theory of good and evil as so often embodies in the good twin and the bad twin, the polar opposites is indicated in the opening paragraph.
I do not know why this particular Tale always affects me strongly but do suggest that you may want to watch this particular movie.
So that is it for the day. We did the usual cleaning and washing but not much else. I will start the heel of my sock this evening.
For now even though it is early I will put up this blog, may return to it later if I have anything else to add.
Tata maybe later.