Well hello there!

I'm still alive! Although you could be forgiven for thinking I'd dropped off the face of the earth.  Lots of things have happened since June.. my nephew and niece's visit (I miss them so much!), lots of work and stress, a frozen shoulder, various minor ailments (cold season and I got it twice!), my mom went off to visit nephew and niece to celebrate my brother's birthday, hair dye trials (ha ha) , a huge deluge, missing kitties, Mom is back,  slow progress stitch-wise, but on a roll, prize-wise..

So, let me show you the goodies...

2 lovely pieces of fabric, I think both some sort of linen and one a Silkweaver one, a Christmas leaflet (sorry it is in my stash somewhere already), a small Ornament booklet, and Carrie's Creation floss!  All these from Kim in Australia.  Check out her blog at http://a-stitch-in-thyme.blogspot.com/

That makes 3 specialty fibers I've got - sample Vicky Clayton HDFs sent together with a purchase of linen from a lady in Canada,  Maureen; one skein GAST from another kind lady- by  coincidence also Canadian, Laurie!

I follow Marlene's blog, and she sent this really lovely stitched piece..

I think this is Sampler Romantic.  When I grow up I want to stitch just like Marlene!  :)  I am stitching (trying to) 2  samplers and it's a toss-up whether I will finish any one of them - Angie only sends the installments when you've finished stitching the parts that she sends out monthly.   Actually it's not a toss-up, I'm sure it's a lost cause by this date but never say die..

Here is where I am now  -- Part 1, still!  haha ha  (that could be hysterical laughter)

Oh hey that's not it, that's the part I finished !

Compare with where I stopped last time  (I think it was mid-May)

and you'll notice I stopped where the repeating motif is, on top, which I find very tedious. I decided to stick with it and finished the repeating border this week, plus the pale green wreath and new leaf.  The right side is a mirror image of the left side, so look for more repeating motifs... border, wreath, leaves, until I reach the medallion again, then I have to stitch UP.  Hopefully I get to start that this weekend.

Other winnings: Lucky me! I should have joined the sweepstakes! Gone for the lotto!  lol

Lavina had two and didn't need the extra one!

And last, a leaflet from Jan - Country Garden Stitchery, Peace Joy and Love:

I was actually aiming for her other giveaway (and sadly I can't remember what it was), and this was what I ended with - it is truly pretty, and I promise to stitch up.

Last, I moved much further along on the little La D Da piece in honor of my dad, brother and nephew..

That border (border again!) which so attracted me has also been my nemesis.  There are still three missing flowers in the piece, which I plan to do in red-orange.  Yes, I know - 2 flower colors on a single plant? Yes!  I think it needs a pop of color.  And last, the initials of my dad, my brother, my nephew.

I also tried a new hair dye -- Herbatint. It claims to be paraben free, and something else free, but one thing it is not free of is the chemical used to make the tint stick to your hair, plus there is so little of it - 2- 60ml bottles of color and developer!  Some people swear by it though.  I had to dye my hair, the little hairs on my temple were coming out white, Horrors!  Although next time, I may just brave the  4-5 hour sit at the salon to get my hair straightened, and colored too, while I'm at it.  What we go through....

Some sad news, a little kitty I had gotten fond of was cat-napped.  She (he?) was one of a litter of 4, and not at all afraid of people - and that may have been her downfall.  I can still remember the little thing closing her eyes when she was being petted.  I'm not a real cat lover, but somehow I got won over by the cute factor.. must be from subscribing to Cute Overload! The rest of the litter perished over the weekend, their caretaker says one ate something that didn't agree with it, the other got run over (he said it was the black one, another kitten I liked - I saw it last week sitting pretty in the middle of the road and ignoring the car honking at it til someone nudged it away) and the last one, caught its death of cold from the water - the torrential rain over Monday night to Tuesday morning that wouldn't stop... they tried saving it, wrapping it in a towel and putting it in a box, but the poor thing didn't make it.  I wish they'd alerted me, I would have gone down with a blow dryer (would that have worked?)

Anyway, in their memory.. my nephew and niece enjoyed watching them play..  these are the two kittens who were not afraid..

This one would close its eyes when being petted.. disappeared 09 Aug

this one, perished between 16-18 Aug, don't know the exact date.

Honestly, what was their mother thinking??  To lose all 4 in the span of 2 weeks.  Sigh.

In other news, I have a frozen left shoulder.. and man, was it painful!   The doctor, a very nice one, demonstrated some exercises to do for a month to see if I get any relief.  If none, it's off to rehab.  The exercises did help, and I did go to see her again.. this time because of a clicking sound made by my left knee.  She said it could be that the fluid or or what not between the joints was wearing out...she recommended losing weight.  I told her I'd been exercising.  She asked what exercises.  I told her squats (from my Jillian Michaels dvds).  She said no no no...!  I mentioned jumping jacks (from the Four-Minute workout, NY Times). She was horrified!  Just walking would do, 30 minutes, 3-4 times a week to start with.  So it's just walking for now.  Can't believe I ever did a 5K (and I did, 4 years ago lol)

The main reason I need this exercise...

I think this is the first time I have seen the Kinder Bueno eggs here:

There was a toy inside, but I forgot to take a picture. It was a DIY toy.  Never mind, next post you'll see what was inside the egg, and the toy I had to construct from the parts.  I still don't know what it's called.  I hope someone will be able to tell me when I post this weekend... something new to learn.

Til then, stay well and Happy Stitching!