snow anyone?

Thursday February 7, 2013

Oh the possibility of being snowed in tomorrow.....What's the best part about being snowed in? Wearing PJ's all day... and having a cup of tea. You kind of need that when you got a house bound child. Maybe he could play outside all day... definitely if I lock the doors ;)

I found the coolest tea bags... well, ok I didn't actually find them... I've only seen a photo....and I do so love birds.




These creative teabags packed like origami birds are by Russian designer Natalia Ponomareva.



Ever wonder what animals do after you go to bed? I'm wondering if Kiwi might be a night owl too. I got up the other night and he was texting at his computer...

(I have no idea who to credit the photo for, sorry... found it on Crookedbrains site.. which is a really cool site)

I am so hoping tomorrow the 300 feet of snow they are calling for does arrive and it's a snow day.

That'll mean a PJ day... and maybe some stitching....

oh and perchance to nap.

I should add the afternoon nap as a household rule.

Speaking of stitching... apparently my son thinks I have way too much cross stitch.

He hasn't seen it all.

I did agree with him ... and at that he replied

"Well, I guess that means you'll just have to stitch faster".

My stitchy friends will get this.

I better go have a cup of tea before I start finishing every single cross stitch kit I own.

Organic Honey Bush Herbal Tea.. it smells like honey too. Bears like that.

I've been using the new teapot my husband gave me for my birthday.

The Honey Bush Tea has such a wonderful colour.

And of course chocolate...  

I could imagine being  snowed in for a week with this.

But what to feed the others... 

since I didn't  quite make it to the grocery store...

but that's another story....

~ ~ ~ 

I'm somewhat following a theme-along 

challenge I found on the WWFC blog

... but that's another story :)

bear with me now....

Wednesday February 6, 2013

DISCLAIMER: If the following post causes you to think I am completely 

and unbearably off my rocker, I completely understand. 

Sort of.

Ok, not really.

I am a collector. I collect crafts of all sorts. Cross stitch. Books. Music boxes...... 

and oh yeah, almost forgot....a few bears.

My mother claims she started me on this. At what point it crossed into the insanity border, I'm not really sure. Funny how my mom is the one that complains about them now. 

Sometimes I get asked how many bears I have. 

I think I have better things to do than to count them all... wonder if that's even possible. 

I understand some people even catalogue their collections.

 That would dig into my stitching time.

One friend once described me as "She of many". So I thought I'd share a few photos ....

I might add though, that the photos do not cover allll the bears... 

I don't want anyone to think I'm that crazy ;)

Bears seem to have a way of suddenly appearing all through my house....

  

a few miniatures...
.    

                                          

    




... and of course bear books....and bookmarks

                             



A stained-glass kleenex box , and stained glass hangings.... all made by my mom.. to further feed my addiction, lol

 


There are bears almost everywhere... well almost everywhere... a certain husband is limiting that, and put his paw down... lol

                                     

                        



from a glass class I took - of course I  made a bear  :)
  


Just a sampling of some the plush bears...

  

then there's the music box bears.....      
(there's even musical plush bears)

Some of the plush ones  I've made -  

                                           a miniature hand sewn pin

                                    this one's out of felt



This was the first bear I recall making - I learned about ears on "Paws"... 
 
yeah, a little off his rocker... kind of like me....


Guess what was on my wedding cake.... noooo.... really???

                                              

So, one of my creative passions is stitching... combining bears and stitching... now there's a haven of rest :)

                            ... the one and only Pooh!





more cross-stitched
                          

... yes there are more bears cross stitched over time since these :)

Cross stitch.... my other addiction.....

Now I must add that these photos were actually taken a few years ago....

my collection is constantly evolving.

Shockingly I have actually RAK'd a lot of bears over time :)

There are some bears that are extra special.... like Rusty, Humphrey, Oscar... oh the tails they tell...

                                                                                     

                                                                            (btw, only Oscar is in this photo)

They speak? Of course...... well, that's another story....

~ ~ ~ 

I'm somewhat following a theme-along 

challenge I found on the WWFC blog

... but that's another story :)

you better put out some tea

Tuesday February 5, 2013

The best gifts are those that you give from the heart... and secretly you would rather keep yourself.

Take for instance a most recent example. I was given a stuffy for my bearthday. Oh not just a run of the mill stuffy. Oh no. I have a ... ehem.... a few ....of those.

Nope, I received 

a beaver. 

What's so special about him? Well, he talks.

He's a "Chatimals".

More specifically he repeats anything you say

and makes it sound like one of the Alvin and the Chipmunk characters.

This is not the first time I have received a talking plushy.

I posted a video here if you're curious:

Singing Bear

But it is the first beaver.

You see I collect... err... ok am slightly addicted to bears.

I may have a few around here 

somewhere.

anyways....

the point being , the bear-er of this gift seems to be having 

just too much fun with this thing. Heck he even scared a stitchy friend this evening.

No knowing if she'll ever recover.. or be back.

Maybe next time I better put out the Lindt to make up for that.

My son can't even keep his hands off the thing.

It's like an addiction.

Not that I would know anything about that. 

But you gotta a love a creature with chocolate brown fur...

I suppose it's just a reflection of the gift-bearer. And his offspring.

They both have the gift of the gab.

Non stop.

And if they aren't talking...they sing.

So I suppose this beaver-bear wanna-be will fit right in.

Besides, his face kind of looks like a bear... he just needs to hide his tail.

I'm really wondering if the gift-bearer was joking though when he suggested 

we should get another one

so they can talk to each other....

It's not like anyone around here talks to me now.

 They just seem to be focused on talking to plushed animals.

I better go now, the bears are calling me...

but that's another story.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I'm somewhat following a theme-along 

challenge I found on the WWFC blog

... but that's another story :)

Friendship through the years

Monday February 4, 2013

It's interesting how friends and friendships evolve over the years.

First friends might be the ones you meet in kindergarten. The ones that don't seem to understand that you must have all the chocolate chip cookies and yes you really need to knock down that tower they built. You might even remember one. No, me neither.  The cookies & naps, yes. I find it amazing that anyone can still remember their kindergarten teacher. Personally I think they're making it all up when they say they can.

If we're lucky, we might make a friend sometime during grade school and remain friends for years after. Of course then high school happens and everyone seems to find a new niche. I'm not sure I ever found one. I was just all over the place from morning announcements to yearbook to theatre arts to sports teams to... The friends you thought you knew suddenly started hanging out by the smoking doors and new friendships form.

Then Graduation happens and everyone says unrealistically, Oh, let's stay in touch. Yup. Definitely. OK, so some of the gang does get together now and then... for a few years. You run into some during university. Boy did that seem like a big lonely place.

Onto the real world.. university.. jobs... marriage..   things can especially change once there's kids. Of course then you might have your own and suddenly realize why they never seemed to have time to call you anymore.

Do you ever wonder what happened to some of your high school chums? Might be a scary venture. Especially high school reunions. Isn't it just so neat when someone says they want to be your friend on Facebook... and they changed their last name.... and don't offer any explanation as to who the heck they are?? And then there are the ones that force you to go back to that yearbook photo to try and recall who the heck they are.... and leave you still  wondering....

I love it when you run into some old school friends at your child's school... because they have kids now too. I get a good chuckle when they act the same way they did in high school.... I think one was still wearing the same style of clothes and another never changed her hair. Or are the 80's back in style?


Over the years I've had friends come and go. I had a hard time letting go of some, but that's life. The close friends I have now are the best I could ever had hoped for. They love & support me ... even through my shenanigans. Heck they even put up with my weird sense of humour.

So for all friends,  I just want to say Thanks! I LOVE you!.. and this is for you....

"I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.

I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye."

sorry, I don't know who wrote that :)

I'm somewhat following a theme-along 

challenge I found on the WWFC blog

... but that's another story :)

going solo

Sunday February 3, 2013

I am not one to stand up in front of an audience and speak... or play the piano... even after 20+ years of doing this, I still shake like a leaf.  Heck I even shake sometimes playing tennis. Gives the ball an extra spin I think.

So what do I say when someone asks me - can you sing and play a song for us at the retirement home service this Sunday? Never mind that I have never sung a solo... in public. Play AND sing....hmmmm.

OK, well maybe ONCE I sang a solo at a certain monthly stitch-in. I like to make up words to familiar tunes. I was shaking the whole time and I changed keys several times. Good thing nobody caught that one video. Or maybe they are just waiting for the opportune moment to release it.

So she asked me 3 separate times and sent me an email.

The last time I sang in front of an audience was back in grade 8 in the "Grade Eight Girls Ensemble" group. What an imaginative name for our group. The only tune I recall was Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. I still can't believe we sang that in four part harmony.

Sometimes it's good to step out of our comfort zone. It's the only way we can grow and learn.
Several thoughts ran through my mind.... retirement home... how to say no without feeling guilty.... maybe nobody will show up since the Superbowl is on... suppose those that do show up can't hear anyway....

And the next thing I knew... I said yes. Well, I only sang and decided even after practicing, not to play at the same time. In front of an audience that was not deaf. The elderly can be so kind.

I must say it went rather well :)

Watch out - I'm sure there will be a guest appearance on the Glee Club. Just not by me.

I spent the rest of the afternoon de-stressing with some stitch pals... but that's another story :)

~ ~ ~ ~

I'm somewhat following a theme-along 

challenge I found on the WWFC blog

Hold On

Saturday February 2, 2013

Have you ever tried going back in time...
thoughts... revisiting old haunts...
.....trying foods you haven't had in eons... say .. like a Twinkie

Not that I would ever do that... but did you know that this indestructible icon of pimple faced middle schoolers is on the verge of extinction. Apparently they are no longer going to produce them. In the US at least. Where all things are super-sized healthy. I learned that tid-bit while at a Cub Scout meeting just this past week. There might have been Twinkies there. It's been a long time since I saw one....

Now Hold on there - you really thought that all we do at Cub Scout meetings was tie the kids up in knots and see who can make the biggest bonfire in the middle of the gym? Oh yea of little imagination.... there really are 101 ways to make a Cub Scout do your housework and make them think it's a badge requirement. It's good to be extra tough for meeting those badge requirement..... yes son, you really do need to wash the car again this week. And yes, I'm sure painting the entire house was a badge as well.

Back to the Twinkie... I think you better Hold on to any you might have. They may disappear before you know it and you'll be running around holding one of those healthy sugar-paste-mushroom-free muffins muttering "It's not the same, it's not the same....". I can see it now  the headlines will say "Last Twinkie standing sells for Millions"

I swear they changed the taste. OK, so I had one - all in the name of research. My stomach is still wondering what hit it.


Hold on.. I almost forgot to do the draw and it's Feb 2... will the draw police be pulling my strings now?

Introducing... the squawking-talking-chew-a-draw.... and here are the entries:

and the chew-draw expert.... Kiwi!... now where did Kiwi go?

Hey!

ummm...mummy... nothing to see here... just move along now...

Get to work you!

Ok mummy....I picked one.

But I need to chew it a bit first.

And after hours of trying to wrestle the ballot from this chew-addict... 

once Kiwi gets a hold on something watch out!

and the winner is:

Congratulations!!!

See my blog January 19 "adventurous stitching"

Speaking of late things.... I received a belated birthday present.

Something else to hold on to :)

hey.. that still leaves the other hand free to hold on to chocolate :)

even has MY name on it! 

Seems someone forgot about this that was hidden in his closet... 

oh the secrets our closets hold on to...

but that's another story....



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm somewhat following a theme-along 

challenge I found on the WWFC blog

Today it was hold on 

 :)

sayyyy cheese!

Friday February 1, 2013

Today I learnt a few things.

Not that I don't otherwise learn things. Sometimes it can take a bit, 

maybe with the Bugs Bunny mallet...but I do get it ;)

For instance, the bRAKs you do can come back to you.

What goes around comes around they say.

For instance, my flowers.

As you recall I sent some to my sister in law as her mother isn't well.

Today I took the other half to the hospital,

for my father in law.

This evening I found a stray.

I did not know the stroke section of the hospital has a flower policy.

Flowers can only be there for a day and no longer.

Sad. Must be a reason I suppose.

Perhaps they think it will throw the patients into fits of contagious giggles.

Who knows.

But a thought did occur to me while I was walking down a ...

well...

           a rather ....

                              um....

...smelly section of the hospital.

If you cut the cheese... would anyone really notice?

Speaking of cheese... which seems to be the theme today

(never mind that I'm somewhat following a theme-along 

challenge I found on the WWFC blog)

Today I discovered that SOME of my so called friends are keeping secrets from me.

Deep 

dark 

luscious

creamy

secrets.

You can check it out at http://realwomenofphiladelphia.ca/

So why did nobody inform me of this? 

Did they think the shelves would run dry if I found out?

Apparently there was a taste thingy at the local Loblaws...

reports of mass hysteria and ladies going in disguise 

to snag seconds are purely exaggerated understatements.

I think Loblaws ran out of supplies in the wigs aisle.

Tonight I finally decided I should never ever get an iPhone.

They came out with a new app.

You can see it here :https://itunes.apple.com/app/cross-stitch-camera/id592370711?mt=8

I would call this a portable addictive stashing tool.

Can anyone imagine me having this.

No. You don't want me to have this.

I think I'd run out of room on the computer... 

or paper to print all the endless possibilities.

I'd be the one running around saying to all the birdies

"Say cheese!"

But that's another story....

these boots are made for walking....

Thursday January 31, 2013

Sometimes RAKs are planned. Other times they land blatantly in your path. Like these boots.

I'll get back to them shortly.

First, I'd like to share this story... sorry, I don't know where it came from.

Did you know our shoes have a message for us? Each shoe has a sole, just as we do. The sole on the shoe is tough and can take a lot of abuse as our souls should. Also, the sole is flexible and the very foundation of the whole shoe, just as our soul should be the very foundation or base of our lives.

At the end of the sole on the shoe, there is a reminder for us... a heel. It should remind us not to be a heel with the people with whom we work, play and worship or associate.

The top of the shoe, the color and finish tells us something too. There are black shoes, brown shoes, red, yellow and white ones too, and they all walk down the same streets, paths and walks of life. So, too, we are reminded of the black, brown, red, yellow and white people, and we should all walk side by side down the paths of life. Some shoes have a rough finish, as some shoes are shiny and highly polished, just as some people we know.

No matter how we find the finish of the shoe or the people we meet, we must remember we're all God's children... and we can get along together.

The shoe has one tongue and it serves a purpose. We have one and I hope it serves a purpose... not for gossip and slander.

The shoe has many eyes, but yet it cannot see. We have only two eyes and I hope that we use them to see all we can and should.

The shoe laces that hang down tell us that even our lives can have loose ends too. The shoe strings, to be beneficial, have to be tied... so our lives need to have the loose ends tied together.

When I put my shoes on only one size fits, and we should remember to always wear the shoe that fits, and not try to wear another's shoes. When the shoe is on, it's comfortable when worn ... just as we should fit in with people we work with.

As this shoe is put on, we must remember that it never walks alone, so, too, we never walk alone through life; there is always another to walk with us... one greater, more powerful, who always goes with us and comforts and consoles us.

I really like that story.

Now, back to the boots in the photo above.

I was in a Naturalizer store today. Why you may ask.

Well, it's the gift certificate they sent me for my 

"birthday month". 

(See, it's slowly working and soon the rest of the world will get on board.) 

When you sign up for their club, they send you a $15 gift certificate 

to be used during your 

"birthday month".

  (I should copyright that phrase.. what a trend setter I am)

And of course I leave it until the last day. I was not alone in my procrastination.

They have a great sale going on right now - I scored 2 pairs to replace some badly worn out ones.

While at the cash, the clerk mentions that a customer threw out a pair of 

perfectly good boots 

- would I like them? 

I didn't know what to say and he proceeds to dump them into a garbage container.

Seriously???.... who would be so wasteful?? 

The souls were barely even worn, nearly new.

My first thought was RAK!

Tomorrow I will be taking them to a shelter.

I know someone there will  appreciate them. 

It kind of makes you wonder

Who will fill those shoes next?

Walk a  mile in someone else's shoes they say...

Today I made a few preparations for some more BRAKS....

My father in law is in the stroke ward at the hospital.

There are some phenomenal nurses there.

But that's another story...

~~~~~~~~~

If you check one of my prior posts... you'll see I'm doing a give away.

It's part of the Grow Your Blog Party (icon near top of this page on the right).

I'll be doing the draw sometime Feb. 1 - so you still have time to leave a comment!

Thanks for all the lovely comments being left :)