British Wedding Date

This morning I was up at 3:00am - TV turned on - Roby brought out for his P&P - did not want anything to take me away from the TV. Set myself up for a few hours of royal watching and it did not disappoint. Just loved it! She was beautiful, he was handsome - they looked so much in love and I hope they have a long and loving life together. Of course I did not want to miss a minute so there was no needlework going on for these idle hands.
The Brits sure now how to put on a party with pomp and circumstance.
My sister came over for the balcony kiss (es) and we had our own little British breakfast.
Pink grapefruit, raspberry scones with strawberry and rhubarb jam, and scrambled eggs with a cup of tea- delightful as they say. I served it on my only purchase from London when I was there - a breakfast dish set.. how appropo.
To bed early for this gal .. have a good nite...Joni

Organizing the clutter - YES I will

I read the other day that storing your hand dyed threads in plastic bags could result in the dyes having a reaction to the plastic. I don't know the complete details on this but maybe someone out there can enlighten us by leaving a comment.

Anyway it was a good excuse to buy some pretty boxes at Michaels. They are having a sale and I am always a sucker for a sale. Besides I am on an "organizing my workspace" trip so any box will be put to good use. The clutter in the two rooms I have devoted to my crafts is driving me crazy. When I was working a 9-5 job I never had the time. I just wore blinkers because I couldn't see my way clear of getting rid of the clutter. Now that I am home - I am attacking the rooms with a vengeance. - well the plans are in place and just need to be executed LOL. First step to decluttering - what do you need to keep. Ohhh that will be hard. That's why I have my sister coming this weekend to rein me in and justify what I need to keep. I figure a well organized studio will lend itself to my devoting more time to creating. Right now I spend more time looking for things ughhhhh.

So my trip to Ottawa today was to locate the "Solutions" store. I fell in love with it when I walked in. Even though I had to drive 1-1/2 hours to get there - it was worth every minute. I can see that this store will be visited often in my pursuit of the organized workspace! Lots of goodies.

You can also find great stuff at Ikea. Found some wonderful cloth bins - my colour of choice was pink. They make great storage bins and I love the idea that they fold flat. You make them into a box by zipping the bottom. I also found some black vinyl ones that are the height of a letter tray and I use them to store projects in progress. Just use your imagination and you can find all kinds of items that lend themselves to organizing your craft essentials. Now I am looking to find something to organize my stacks of ribbon rolls. Any suggestions out there??

On a side note - what the heck happened on American Idol tonight.. one of the best singers, Pia is gone. what gives with that!

Working at Home Part One - Foot Attire

I have never been one to have a purchase dictated by a brand name but these UGG slippers just called to me as a "MUST HAVE". I am always going through slippers - don't know why. I think the little fur paws do away with them some how. Either they get chewed up by the slumbering pile of black and white fur or carried off by my nimble pixie cat. She just loves those sock/slipper ones and I have no idea where she hides the missing one. I am sure I will come across a pile of long lost ones tucked away.

So I came across these (on-line of course) seems the only way I am shopping these days as I have a terrible dread of shopping malls and stores in general (unless it is craft). I hate buying clothes but give me a shoe store or a handbag store and I can gleefully make a purchase there. Easier to fit a shoe or handbag to one's person. Trying on clothes is one of the worse things to do on my dislike list - which is to say I love my foot attire (though a casual style - no heels for this girl) and bags while I am quite happy in just jeans and LL Bean t-shirts.

Now that I am at home all the time - I can see my attire of the day will be UGG slippers/jeans/t-shirt which makes this girl very happy... something to smile about. Just have to make sure I brush my hair, my teeth and put deoderant on and I am set to go. Though I must say I am noticing that I don't know what day it is sometimes - very confusing when I once worked with 4 calendars going at the same time and now I have none.

Well off to work on some cross-stitch patterns that have a deadline.

A Little Can Go A Long Way

These days have been very difficult with what is happening in  Haiti. Here we go on with our lives knowing the terrible suffering that is going on in Haiti. What we take for granted - food, water, shelter and medical attention is a fight for survival amongst the Haitians. I was listening to the radio and one of the broadcasters had mentioned that he had gone out for supper with his wife and another couple  -the talk was of Haiti as it seems to turn to many times these days. There was a feeling of guilt that here they were enjoying a good meal and spending money when people in Haiti were in the most difficult race for survival. So what they did was that whatever they paid for their meal they contributed the same thing to the Haitian fund. It was a little thing to do but a lot of little things can up to a big thing!

Yes I have that guilt too - but life goes on and we try to do what we can as best we can. I ask myself many times - do I need this or do I want this. Sometimes it will be that you just want it  (ie wool and fabric) but as long as you ask yourself that question constantly I think you are made more aware that there are many people out there less fortunate than you (well me anyway) so best not to complain - appreciate what you have and do what you can for your neighbour. I guess this a further excercise for me in examining my priorities in life.

So in saying a little bit helps... do what you can.There is a wonderful organization called Knitters Without Borders started by a knitter whose donations are directed to Doctors without Borders. There is a running total and already $234,000 has been given since Wednesday last with 2000 e-mails still to be tallied!

Don't forget Haiti and all the other souls less fortunate than us that share this small planet of ours.

G'nite Joni

Noogs

We are having some up and down days lately. Our little orange buddy took off for 6 days over Christmas and came back just before New Years - terribly sick. He has been at the vets since Saturday undergoing tests and we went to see him tonight. He is seriously ill and they have not pinpointed exactly what is wrong but I have seen the X-rays and I keep hoping and thinking I am prepared but you never are. So we will know over the next couple of days after some more tests what kind of decision we need to make. I wish our furry beasts lived longer. How many do we part with during our lifetime? I guess the most we can do is love them as much and as best as we can while we have them. Such unconditional love we get from them.

Good nite ..Joni

To Be Thankful

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It's been awhile since I've posted. Time seems to just runaway. Today is our Canadian Thanksgiving, which means thoughts of what we are thankful for and turkey dinners. Our family celebrated yesterday rather than today because unlike the USA Thanksgiving not all businesses are closed today. To be honest I prefer American Thanksgiving as it is taken more seriously and it is a time for family get togethers. More attention is paid to it and for me it is the beginning of the holiday season. So although the sentiment for Thanksgiving is not as strong here, we as a family celebrated yesterday with all the pomp and ceremony that made it a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration.


We all went to my sister's "house in the woods", where we had an outdoor bonfire, the kids played pretend games in the woods and we gathered in the kitchen and talked about topics relevant for these times. In Canada we are also having our election so there was lots to discuss. It was a general melee of family atmosphere and I guess if I were asked what I was most thankful for it would be family. There were 15 of us from 7 years old to 79 years young. We are a very passionate family with different opinions but are always there for each other. So being together for a wonderful dinner of turkey and fixings is something to be very thankful for.



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I think that with what is going on in the world today we should be so thankful for what we have. I have always felt that as long as I was able to put food on the table and have a roof over our heads that would be enough. The rest is just glitter and it tarnishes with age. As long as you have the basics - to me my life has foundation. I think that is why I love my primitives so much. It evokes an era of simplicity. Not that I am giving up modern plumbing or anything like that, but I think that you need to put your wants and needs into perspective. There is so much unnecessary consumerism in today's world and I think that the current economic crisis brings that home. I guess it is a question of what you NEED vs what you WANT. I have been more conscientious of that mantra over the past few years and I always question my wants. With what has happened this year, we question ourselves more as to the necessity of "things". It helps to say NO to things that really add no value to your life.

So what am I thankful for:

a husband who takes care of the household chores while I create
a 4 legged best friend who loves me unconditionally with his puppy love
a great big passionate family
my quiet life

I think it is important to take stock of what you have and to be thankful for what you have. There are so many out there in dire situations - how can we not be thankful and appreciate what we have; maybe not complain so much of what we don't have and really don't need.



Be Thankful and Happy Thanksgiving.....

We won 3!

Well it finally happened - we won 3 medals overnight in the space of 45 minutes. There was much despair in the family that Canada was not going to come home with any.

Our family are big Olympic fans. The TV is on the CBC channel night and day during the two weeks. It is probably the only time I watch sports constantly. I am not a big sports fan except at the Olympics and that is when I get my fill for 4 years. Vancouver, Canada will have the winter olympics in 2010. That will be something to look forward to. Can't decide whether I like the summer or the winter games. What the heck I love it all! Congrats all Olympians...

Checking out the orchids to see how they are doing. They are such unique flowers. I have just started my orchid collection and getting into it slowly. I want to make sure that this is something I can grow - knowing my green thumb. Right now they are spending the summer in the breezeway where I sit and read and can admire them. The winter will be the telling of whether it will be a success or not - indoor heating can be very temperamental - especially in our house where I like cool temps for my sanity and saving the $$$.

Off to make chocolate chip cookies with Ghiradelli semi-sweet morsels.. a treat. Watch more Olympics and finish up some punch needle.

Snow - OK enough!

Roby eating fresh snow & my back deck.

My car and driveway buried under snow - no dog walking tonight!

Happy 2008! A new year - new projects - new thoughts - new beginnings. What a way to bring in 2008 - another winter storm. It seems like it has been snowing every day. Another 15 cm today. We cancelled our NY day activities as no one is out and about. The roads have not even plowed nor has my trusty little guy come to plow me out. Not that I plan on going anywhere. Roby just loves new fresh snow - he has been in and out about 20 times today just so he can lick away at the snow. Then he prances in all ready for a rub down with his favourite towel. Dogs are such creatures of habit. He constantly amazes me.

It was a day to stay snuggled under a quilt with a good book and finishing up some rug hooking. Have been fighting a cold - hate getting sick. There is just something not right about being sick on your holidays. There go all the plans. Never got to making the rugelach but will have to as the cream cheese is bought and it is pretty expensive to throw out - my thriftiness will just not allow that.

We had a wonderful feed of Chinese food although we had to wait an hour for take out - a very popular place and it did not help that they lost our order. I unfortunately have little patience and thought it poor customer service that they did not discount our meal for having waited an hour before they discovered it lost.

Soap plans are underway - just mulling about the recipe and the presentation - for me always an important part of the product. Off to rug hook some more - deadline fast approaching!