So that happened

What a month September has been!!

At the beginning of the month I went off to Las Vegas for a family vacation with the Parents.  We were there for four and a half days and were busy.  We went to Red Rock Canyon, a show, to see the dolphins at The Mirage, to the top of the Eifel Tower,, to the dragon store and of course the stitching store.

Then it was back home to work where one of my co-worker's husband was hospitalized after a bicycle crash.  He has just been released.

On Friday the 21st six tornados touched down in my general area.  The strongest, an F3 in the Dunrobin area which is about 25 minutes from me.  A F2 in the south west end of the city which cause massive damage to a hydro transfer station.  The others were not near me, three in wooded areas.

I lost power Friday night around 6 pm and was already safely at home.  Crews worked tirelessly to address the damage and make emergency repairs and restore power to around 200 000 residences without power.  Mine came back on around 10 pm Sunday evening.

Yesterday I went off the Kingston Embroidery Guild's Market Day and visiting.

Needless to say that it has been a very busy month with lots of things happening.  I did management to do a little stitching.

All the pretties

August has been super busy.

It started with a family lunch, then my birthday, the Knowledge and Needles Open House and a stash zone still waiting to be finished.

Also - my boss was away most of the month so work was busier than normal.  

Needless to say, blogging hasn't been the highest on my to do list.

But I have some progress pictures to share.

First: so of the glorious stitching on display at the Knowledge and Needles Open House.  I keep waiting for Ann to include drool bibs.

On my way to the Open House I picked up Teresa Wentzler's The Castle from the framers.  This guy is all mine

I have managed a little stitching progress

Blackstone fantasy garden

Canada sampler

Serenity prayer

Planes, trains and automobiles

It has been ages, well 13 days since I posted - I have been a little busy.

On the 1st I took a train to meet the Parents and we drove to Toronto for a morning flight on the 2nd. 

Off we went to Las Vegas (on my very first flight) we arrived there around noon and made our way to our hotel to check in and drop off our bags. 

We had concert tickets to see Reba McEntire with Brooks and Dunn at Caesar's Palace.  It was a great concert

Sunday we explored some of the hotels on the strip, and checked out Shark Reef at the Mandalay Hotel. 

Shark Reef (in the tank)

Jelly fish at Shark Reef

Treasure Island

Treasure Island

Caesar's Palace 

Caesar's Palace

Luxor

We also found this store at the Excalibur... dragons, so many dragons and assorted other fantasy items.... I should have taken a bigger suitcase

Dragons followed me home

T-shirt

Mom and I used the bus to travel to Stitcher's Paradise and picked up some new stash.  We sent dad back to the hotel to spare him having to wait while we explored the store.

Mom and I got temporary tattoos Monday night

Mom getting her tattoo

My tattoo

Tuesday morning we reversed the trip and return home.  I actually stayed an extra day with the Parents before returning home.

I did a little stitching on the plane and in the hotel on My Day Complete

Action packed

It has been a busy month.. and a bit.

On the 9^th I went to see my parents, during this visit we planned a day trip.  My aunt joined us as we went on the 1000 Island Cruises Lost ships of the 1000 Islands cruise.  It was a little cool and windy for the first part of the trip but was bright and sunny by the time we got back.  This cruise does not include a stop at the restored Boldt Castle but it did go around it.  It was very pretty but I am not sure of the practicality of living in a castle in the middle of a river.

After the cruise we enjoyed a lovely bbq and visit.  And the next day I returned home.

I had a fairly quiet weekend the next week.  A friend and I went to see Wind River and to lunch.  The movie was excellent though the subject matter is not for everyone. 

On the 20^th I took the train from Ottawa to Toronto where for the first time I went to Union Station before getting on the GO train and heading to Burlington.  Why would I go there you might ask?  I had a work meeting the next day but had a lovely dinner and walk along the pier.  After my meeting I got back on the GO and headed off to Oshawa to meet Bonnie.  We spent a few days in Toronto going to the Royal Ontario Museum and doing some shopping.  On Saturday morning we went to Gitta’s where we met friends for stash shopping and lunch. 

It was a packed few days, the weather was hot and not at all normal for the time of year.  Still we had a great time and managed to do almost everything on our list.

I headed home on Sunday very tired.

The last weekend of September was the Cataraqui Embroidery Guild Marketplace and Show in Kingston.  Dani and I headed down for the day and had lovely afternoon/evening visit with local stitching friends before we headed back home.

This past weekend was Thanksgiving (Canadian) and once again I travelled to see my parents.  On Saturday my aunt joined us for dinner and then I made her help identify some old photos.  We seem to have a lot with no names or the “grandma and I”. …. Not helpful!  They will be labeled shortly and I have scanned them as well.

We went to see another aunt for a large meal on Sunday before I was back home on Monday morning.

So much travelling and many things going on! This is not normal for me and I am ready for a few weekends at home.

I have managed to do a little stitching and have been trying to make progress on the stash zone:

Added some drawers to the stash zone

Touching the Autumn Sky

Started the second page on Cougar kitten

Blackstone Fantasy Garden

Second round of Serenity prayer

Merry Ho Ho Lizzie Kate

Road Trip Stash

In September Dani and I did a road trip to Syracuse New York, and a cross stitch store near there: A Stitcher's Garden http://www.astitchersgarden.com/

I admit to being bad and not having any sort of list or idea what I was looking for. I did pick up a piece of linen that should be good for the Just Nan limited edition ornaments, which I have but not have stitched yet.

Yes, I said linen, which I don't like but will try.

Oh What A Weekend

This past weekend Kathy hosted a wonderful weekend of fun, food and stitching.  I of course didn't manage to take any pictures but check Kathy's blog for a wonderful post on our weekend.

Last week was busy.  

At the start of the week I got to wear these lovely steel toe safety shoes as I worked with the collection in storage at our Warehouse.  So stylin'!

Last week was the 20th anniversary of the start of college where I met Dani. It's crazy to think it's been that long.  

Friday Dani and I headed off to Trenton, and Kathy's for the long weekend.  I didn't get as much stitching done as I had hoped, which isn't surprising given all the talking, laughing, eating and enabling that was going on.  



Here is my progress on Serenity Prayer

and for round two Owl birth sampler

Thanks Kathy for an awesome weekend!