Relaxed

Thursday January 31. 2008

The last time I heard from Dani she mentioned that she was glad that Dan was relaxing because he seemed pretty stressed and tired the last time she saw him. So Dani, here he is in a pretty relaxed state. We were in St Augustine again earlier this week. Bruce went over to check out the fort and the rest of us went wandering. Every time Luci and I saw a shop or a point of interest Dan would just tell us to carry on and he would just relax on the bench... so here he is relaxing on various benches.

We also got to see flowers on this tree, whatever it is... and lets face it... when you live in Ontario, flowers in January are a treat no matter what kind of flowers they are..if I even knew.

Today we walked up the 203 steps of the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse. There will be pictures later...

Normally we like RV camping over condos because we meet more people and get to know some interesting characters. However today we broke out of the condo mold and met our neighbours on either side. The 6 of us sat out on the common side balcony drinking wine and beer and having a good time. B & L joined us later and we all had a lot of fun. We have managed to organize a Super Bowl party next door...they have a big screen... and I think it will be a blast. 4 Canadians from Ontario and 4 Americans from Minn and Mass (cause I can't spell the full state names... I have been drinking beer and wine, after all) ... anyway...it should be fun..almost like RVing.

It is so cool to meet people from all over the States and hear other points of view and stories. One of the guys used to work for Green Giant. He told about a high powered employee who asked in all seriousness..."What do you do with a raw potato?"...now everyone thought that was pretty funny but really who has time to worry about raw potatoes when there are more interesting things to do? However given that she worked for Green Giant , maybe she could have shown a little more discretion...

No matter...today was one of the best of the holiday and I think it was because it was more like RVing than condoing....

I can't believe this because I was just here blogging when Luci called the guys out to the private balcony to see the Direct TV blimp. They scared it away by mooning it. Luci, unfortunately, got a picture (not of the blimp) but I refuse to post it. If you are really desperate, e-mail Bruce and he may embarass himself and Dan by e-mailing you copy! ( fulfordb@sympatico.ca) I am willing to give a 10% discount at Knowledge and Needles to anyone who is foolish enough to want this photo.

Florida

Greetings from Florida...It was sunny for a couple of days but today isn't one of them.
This is the view from the balcony of the condo looking north...the one below is looking south. Today was likely not the best day for taking a picture to show off because it is cool and breezy. We walked north on the beach this morning and got caught in a bit of rain...no harm done but what a stupid day for us to pick for a long walk!
When we came back from the walk we headed for my once a decade visit to the flea market. Back here now at the condo...Dan and Luci are walking south on the beach...they are actually in the picture above..two specks on the beach. Bruce is gone to the gym for a workout and I , not feeling particularly energetic am getting caught up with you guys and will shortly repair to the recliner with a book.

On Thursday, the day after we arrived we all headed to JB's Fish Camp restaurant for our long anticipated lunch. We had been here before about 12 or 15 years ago (!) and Luci loved the crabs she had for lunch that day and still remembered them all these years later. Naturally the first place we came was back to JBs. These above photos are of us at lunch that day and below is a photo of my lunch...I ate them all!!!! and they were delicious.
Luci was disappointed with her crab so now we can cross JBs off the list!

Yesterday we went to St Augustine and had a fabulous lunch at Harrys Bar and Grill, then went to the Outlet Mall where I did some damage and contributed to Florida's economy. I had a ball and got the shopping bug out of my system. From now on we'll just be tourists and enjoy the weather which I am hoping will warm up again.

We will return to St Augustine and wander the old town but it was pretty cold wandering around yesterday so we will wait till a warmer day. I dropped into a needlework shop there but ... just my luck..the sign said ...closed till Jan 30! Of course if someone is on holiday in Brighton and goes to my shop they will also find a sign ...closed till Feb 15 ...so I guess I can't complain!

We miss the dogs but they are being well cared for by their live-in babysitter.

I also got a message from Dani that I have been given a "You make me smile " award and I must say I am deeply touched. Thanks Dani.

I have done absolutely no stitching since we left...but that's OK...I'll get caught up sooner or later!

I forgot to comment Beatrice but congrats on your 100th blog!

Have a great day everyone!

Kaleidoscope

January 19, 2008
Kaleidoscope by Ink Circles! I love it ! I finished it on Thursday and have been enjoying looking at it ever since. I call this picture TV for Cats...The squirrels and birds at the feeder keep them enterained for hours.

Tagged

Thursday, January 18, 2008

Dani has tagged me...

4 Jobs I have had...

1. Babysitter
2. Waitress
3. High school math teacher
4. Teacher librarian

4 movies I watch over and over

1. Miracle on 34th Street (old version)
2 Lord of the Rings
3. An Affair to remember
4. You've got mail

4 places I have been

1. Ayers Rock, Australia
2. Tivoli Gardens, Denmark
3. Vieglund Gardens, Norway
4. Aswan Dam, Egypt

4 places I have lived

1. Alexandria, ON Canada
2. Seelback, West Germany
3. Perth, Australia
4. Brighton, ON Canada

4 TV shows I watch regularly

1. The Mercer Report
2. All the Law and Order shows
3. Martha Stewart (I'll bet that is a shock to you all)
4. 6 o'clock news

4 people who e-mail me regularly

1. Eastenders stitchers
2. Tita
3. Sharon
4. Beatrice

4 favourite foods

1. Potato chips
2. Pasta
3. Turkey
4. French fries

4 places I would rather be

1. Visiting my Australian friends
2. In an Irish pub
3. The Black Forest region of Germany
4. Skiing in France

4 things I am looking forward to

1. Next week in Florida
2. Stitching this afternoon
4. Nashville Market in February
5. Knowledge and Needles Open House in March

Way behind in blogging

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Here is where I'm at with Cirque. Tomorrow is my traditional day for working on it but I am getting so close to finishing Kaleidoscope that I may push CdC back a day or two so I can have a finish! I will be taking this to Florida with me though, but I don't know how much stitching I am going to get done. In past years I have stitched a lot while sitting out in the sunshine but this year we are not in the RV and we will be with friends so we may travel around a bit more.

And since we will be snowbirds, if only for a couple of weeks...here is my completed "snowbird" from one of the JCS Ornament issues.

For the birds

Tuesday January 8, 2008

I was in Cobourg at Joyce's this morning and took this photo of her HAED "The Tempest" progress. It is coming along nicely but like everyone she did not get as much done over the holidays as she would usually. I worked on this ornament from JCS 2007 yesterday and today. This Woodlands Woodpecker (as he is called in the magazine) stitched up pretty fast with only a few colours in him. I still have to add a bead for his eye.
And here is my cardinal which I just love. He too was a pretty fast stitch and is also from the JCS 2007 Ornament issue. I sttiched him on dark green. He is shown on red fabric in the magazine but it was just a little too much red for me.
I was wondering to myself this weekend why I didn't do any ornaments last year. Then it came to me. I spent oodles of time doing about 35 or 40 name tags for my retreat in August. So really I did even more small ornament sized things...they just got finished differently!

Stitching Marathon

Monday January 7, 2008

Dani and I stitched up a storm on the weekend...actually to be accurate, we stitched up a thaw! The snow is sure disappearing fast around here!

Anyway on Thursday I finished this ornament from The Gift of Stitching. On Friday I finished this companion to it.
Then I pulled out Kaleidoscope and worked on it for quite awhile. Then I sarted the cardinal (CWC) from the 2007 JCS Ornament issue. I finished it on Sunday evening! What a stunner he is!

I haven't taken pictures of those last two efforts yet so they will have to wait for another post.

Meanwhile here are two finishes from a couple of the Thursday stitchers.

This is a table runner done by Judy (not Judie of Cows with Blankets fame..the other Judy)

This fabulous Santa was done by Sharon...

A Big TA DA for Judie

Friday, January 4, 2008

This is Judie's completed Good Night Sleep Tight (Stitchworks) ...or as we affectionately have been calling it...Cows with blankets.
Anyway Judie has very diligently and with great perserverence been working on this design for a long time. It is for her daughter. She has been so good to stick to the game plan of finishing this huge peice before starting anything else . All the Thursday stitchers have admired her determination in that regard. It is finally complete and I'd say she should be extremely proud of her accomplishment.... She picked a great day to display it to all of us since there was a huge crowd of stitchers here on Thursday...pictures are available on Dani's blog.

Do I look great-auntly?

Wednesday January 2, 2008
Am I looking suitably great auntly?
This is the newest member of the McDonald extended family, Isabella, born to my nephew and his wife on December 18. Dan and I were thrilled when they stopped in on Sunday for a brief visit. Their three daughters, Sarah, Lauren and now Isabella are adorable and they all make up the loveliest family you ever saw.

On New Year's Eve Day, Dan and I headed to St Catharines to spend the evening and night with Bruce and Luci...It was a quiet and uneventful celebration and we all managed to stay awake until midnight!
New Year's Day's drive home was less pleasant starting with a flat tire on the Queen Elizabeth Expressway. I spent the entire time by the side of the road worrying about when we would get rear ended and killed..whether by some stupid speeder, someone who just cannot drive in slush, someone still drunk from the night before, or just anyone. Fortunately we got the tire changed and were on our way before any of those awful possibilities happened. There have been far too many fatal accidents on the big highways in Ontario of late where someone is stopped, well off the road like we were and still gets nailed by a speeder. The roads were not the greatest...we did get quite a bit of snow in Ontario yesterday...but we finally arrived home safe and sound. Today, it is just plain cold.

I got to do some stitching today, my first of 2008, and aptly enough worked on CdC which I was happy to pick up after about a three week break from it!