Little Cat Blogs

Holidays and Books

2010-07-19T11:46:00.001+01:00

At the end of June Riley, Riley's Dad and I went on a little holiday. We went to Wales for a few days in a caravan and we had a great time. We went to Anglesey for a day out.

The beach was a bit pebbly so we spent some time looking fossils.

and found this one (I think it's a leaf).

On another day we went round Caenarfon Castle (said as Can-are-von), which was beautiful. Riley and I went right to the top of one of the towers. The original stone spiral steps are great going up, but very hard work coming down again, especially with a 3 year old in tow!

This cute little baby Seagull was sitting on a ledge in the castle watching all the visitors

Later that day we got to see the castle from a different vantage point

when we got to go up in this 4 seater plane as a treat from Riley's Dad. It was the first time in the air for both Riley and I. What an amazing experience!

We flew over Snowdonia as well as the castle. Looking at the mountains from above the clouds was awesome!

Here's Riley with the headset on talking to the pilot

We also visited the Sea Zoo and I took lots of shots of the sealife, but I don't want to make this post even more photo heavy so here's just one pic of a starfish.

And to finish the holiday we went out for a special meal. When it came time to order our sweet, I asked the waitress for a Sherry Trifle for myself and a Strawberry Icecream Sundae for Riley. Riley got quite agitated and kept saying he didn't want that. When I asked him what he did want then, he said "well I do want the strawberry icecream, but I want it TODAY not on Sunday"! LOL I suppose you had to be there, but that was soo funny.

Here is the Strawberry icecream "Tuesday"!

Hope you enjoyed your peek at our little holiday.

Since my last update I haven't picked up a needle. I could only ever stitch when Riley wasn't around, so evenings (but usually too tired) or when he went to his grandparents, as he just would not leave me alone to do it. Even if we've had a fun play session just before hand, he still refuses to let me do something for 'me'. Same with trying to watch at programme on tv, but I have found that he'll leave me in peace to read. So that's what I've been doing.

A couple of days before going on holiday I went out shopping with my mum and dad and we called in a book shop. I've not 'read' a book for a couple of years. I had been listening to audio books for the last few years but had not even done that since Christmas time, but I picked up a copy of "Glass Houses" by Rachel Caine, just because I liked the cover.

Well, I got totally drawn into the story and read it in just a couple of days. I was so hooked that we even found a book shop whilst we were on holiday so I could buy the next book/s in the series. Since then I've just not stopped and have read all eight in the series and a couple of different books too. I have just finished "A Certain Slant of Light" by Laura Whitcomb, which was a beautiful ghost story told from the point of view of the ghost (not at all scary - more like a romance) and now I'm on "Second Glance" by Jodi Picoult. I joined Goodreads too, which may or may not have been a bit mistake as my 'want to read/wish list' has already grown so long with reading all the book reviews! If you're a member and would like be become Goodreads Friends, please let me know.

Have a good week everyone. Maybe even some stitching this weekend as Riley could possibly be spending some time at his Dads.

Little by Little

2010-06-21T21:33:00.001+01:00

I've spent another couple of hours on MOTDP this week. They really are nice to stitch and moving along quite nicely now.

I also took a few photo's of Riley this week which I thought I'd share. He's getting over the chicken pox now. He didn't actually get very many spots and he was very lucky not to get any on his face. You can just see a couple of them healing on his legs.

I can't believe he's soon to be 4 years old and will be starting school in September. It kind of made it all real when I received his admission forms and uniform order form through the post on Saturday. He gets to visit the school on Friday and then we both get to go and sample a school lunch sometime in July. He's definitely ready to start learning more, especially reading and writing, and I think he'll love it.

Right, I'm off to try and sort my mobile phone out. It got an update today from the service provider and has totally gone crazy. Whatever it's doing has run a completely full battery down in less than 2 hrs. I have no idea what I've got to do to sort it out. Should be fun. Oh joy.

Mad Hair Day

2010-06-14T10:38:00.000+01:00

These mermaids sure do have a LOT of hair! I spent hours yesterday stitching different shades of brown and it's still not finished. Here's a photo of my progress so far.

I like the look of the tweeded sections. It really gives her hair a lift. Still quite a bit to do on that section before I can move down to her body though.

In other news, Riley has come down with Chickenpox this weekend. I have a snotty nosed, spotty, itchy child. The spots haven't reached his whole body yet. His face is clear at the moment but I doubt it'll stay like that. They started on his bottom, groin and tops of his legs and spread down his legs and to his feet through last night. Between getting up this morning and getting hold of some calamine lotion a couple of hours later, we found some new ones on his hands and fingers and there are some reddish marks on his chest and back which no doubt will flourish over the next few hours into spots. Gross. At least he's young (I hear it's a lot worse if you get it when you're older) and it really doesn't seem to be affecting him too much at the moment. At breakfast this morning I offered him a banana sandwhich after his cereal and he said "no mummy, banana's are not good for my spots." LOL where did he get that idea from?

Nineteen Ninety Three

2010-06-07T14:28:00.001+01:00

I found some old photo's whilst looking for something else. Thought you might like to see them. These were taken in 1993 when I was nearly 26 years old. No laughing now!

Oh to be that slim again!

Mermaids - First WIP Photo

2010-06-06T18:48:00.000+01:00

Here's my first WIP photo of Mermaids of the Deep Blue. There's about 6 hours work on her here (I'm a very slow stitcher!).

This is the lower of the two mermaids. She looks kind of odd doesn't she. Maybe even a little bit scary! I do really like the fabric though. I dont think I'll get any done on her tonight as I'm thinking a night in front of the tv with a big bag of Maltesers all to myself sounds good at the moment.

So how about this one?

2010-06-01T19:15:00.002+01:00

Ok, so you overwhelmingly voted that this fabric was too light:

What do you think of this one? In real life it's just ever so slightly darker than it shows in the photo.

I must admit, I do like this one. It's very pretty and sparkly. Looking forward to reading your comments. If it's a good vote then I'll be starting them very soon. If not, I'll carry on with the 'new start' I had this weekend :o)

Next! Move along now.

2010-05-26T20:29:00.001+01:00

Ok, so it's time to start thinking about what to work on next and I think my decision has been made. I'm having a new start with Mermaids of the Deep Blue by Mirabilia. I'm not 100% sure about the fabric, so tonight whilst the light was still good I did a floss toss. (Picture clickable for clearer view.)

What do you think? Do you think it's 'too aqua'? There's a bit of pink in there too. Be honest with me please. Don't just say you like it to please me. I can quite easily work on Spring Ride for a while until I can get a new piece of fabric. Oh, just in case you don't know or can't remember what Mermaids of the Deep Blue looks like, here's a picture:

Thanking your all in advance for your comments and a very big thank you for all the wonderful comments you made about Magnolia. You made me very big headed you know! :o)

Magnolia

2010-05-23T15:06:00.001+01:00

She's finished! I worked on her all weekend apart from the times I took out to eat and sleep. Now I have a splitting headache, but she's done, she looks fabulous and she's well worth the headache :o)

MAGNOLIA by Nora Corbett

Stitched on Sparklies Hand Dyed aida - Slightly Summer

using DMC & Petite Treasure Braid threads

Happy Birthday Mum

2010-05-22T08:00:00.001+01:00

It's my Mum's birthday today. Unfortunately I haven't quite finished her birthday present and although I only have the beading to do now, which I'll be working on today, she'll then be at the framers for a couple of weeks. Rather than leave Mum with just a card on her birthday, I thought it would be nice to show her a little glimpse of her gift.

So Mum, meet 'Magnolia'.

I dont want to spoil it by showing her in full, especially as she's not finished and will look so much nicer by this evening. I really hope you'll like her.

Happy Birthday MUM. I love you. xxx

Magnolia 'before the weekend rush'

2010-05-19T10:23:00.003+01:00

Here's where Magnolia currently stands. I took the photo last night after finishing up the backstitching. Just that last petal and the beading to do. My needle will be smoking this weekend to get her finished.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

I'm still here!

2010-05-17T09:17:00.001+01:00

I am still here, just not had much chance to stitch over the last few weeks. Mums birthday is next weekend and I still have a LOT to do on Magnolia. She's not going to be finished in time :o( On an up note though, Riley's Daddy is having Riley at his house next weekend so I will get chance to work on Mags. If I work really hard on her I might even get her finished and ready for framing. I have the large bottom petal yet to stitch and then all the beading to do. Do you think I'll get all that done in two days?

Riley has his last MMR booster this afternoon. I'm not looking forward to that. He only had the first one two months ago so he remembers what it was like. It's going to be hard work getting him into that nurses office today I think. At least it's the last immunisation now until he reaches school leaving age. Phew.

Right I'm off now to do some housework. If I can get on top of everything today and after work this week then I will have more time to stitch in peace this weekend :o)

**Edited to add** Riley was a little star at the nurses office. Very brave and received a set of football stickers and some candy for being so good!

Name the Bird

2010-04-25T16:17:00.000+01:00

Looking out of my back door on Thursday evening I could see a some kind of bird in the trees beyond my neighbours garden. I could see it was eating something that it was holding in its feet and the other birds in the area were not at all happy.

I grabbed my camera and took a couple of shots, hoping I could zoom in and see exactly what the bird was.

This is actually clearer than I could see without the zoom on the camera, and below is a blown up version of just the bird. I still don't know what kind of bird it is, but definitely a bird of prey.

Isn't he lovely colours. Any bird lovers out there like to enlighten me?

Easter 2010

2010-04-18T15:40:00.000+01:00

I know I'm a bit late with this post, but I only took the photo's of Riley with his Easter Hat this last week whilst we've both been at home ill. Riley was on the mend when I took these as you can probably tell :o)

Riley had to make an Easter 'Bonnet' for a competition at Nursery:

He won Second Prize!

Although this is how he really likes to wear it:

These next two photo's are my favourites of the batch I took that day:

Please do excuse the 'sick bucket' you can see in this photo. It was a necessary extra that week!

Now on to my stitching. Riley has been at his Dad's this weekend and although I've not spent the whole weekend stitching, I have done a fair bit on Magnolia and am feeling a lot better about getting her finished on time for my Mums birthday now.

Here is a close up of the beautiful sparkly thread in the lower part of her skirt. I love the colours in this thread - peacock blue, pink, gold and black and it looks so pretty in real life.

Riley is due back any time now so I'm going to head off and get some little jobs done whilst I still can. Hope you all have a lovely weekend.

The Days of The Week Song

2010-04-08T17:04:00.002+01:00

As sung by Riley :o)

Baking with Riley

2010-04-05T14:05:00.001+01:00

This is how you do it mum:

First you mix the butter and the caster sugar together. It's called 'creaming' mum.

Then you add the eggs a bit at a time and mix it really well.

Then you add the flour and cocoa powder and mix and mix and mix!

It's really hard work you know.

Put them in the oven on 200c (ok mum, I'll let you do that bit because I'm too small and the oven is too hot).

The best bit - licking out the bowl!

Just cooling down now

YUM!

Magnolia

2010-03-30T21:24:00.000+01:00

In the last couple of weeks I haven't had much time to devote to Magnolia, but I must admit that I thought I'd progressed further than I actually have since my last update on here. Just five weeks now until she needs to be in the framers. Arrghh!

Riley is due to start school this September. Can you believe that? I certainly can't. It'll be big changes for both of us as I wont be able to continue working the days/shift I currently do once I'm doing the school runs too as I usually start at 7.30am. On Thursday I should find out which school he has been allocated. Applications had to be in on 11th December last year so it's been a long wait and now I'm nervous. If he hasn't been allocated a place at my first or second choice school then I wont be happy as they are both really good schools. I really don't like the third school I had to put down, and the ones I didn't don't even bear thinking about. Apart from the 'not so good' status of those schools I didn't apply for but could still end up being allocated, things 'workwise' for me could get pretty awkward and I may have to drop hours and pay, when money is tight enough as it is on a part time wage. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

A visit and Magnolia

2010-03-21T21:02:00.002Z

Last weekend Riley and I had a mini break at Kathy's house. Kathy lives about 3 1/2 hrs drive away from here and has been 'up north' to my house lots of times, but we had never been down to hers. We had a fun time with lots of chatting and baking, a little bit of stitching here and there and a trip to Bristol Zoo. The weather was gorgeous - a proper spring day and we even had a picnic! I thought you might like to see a selection of the 100 or so photo's I took while we were there.

I just love the butterfly house.

Roar! My favourite shot of the day :o)

A lot of the photo's were taken through glass. I tried to avoid reflections, but in some shots it wasn't possible, like the gorgeous Red Panda above. Isn't he a cutie!

Yep, it's a fish. I can't remember what though.

The two bright spots on this urchin really were there and are not just camera flash.

A really bad photo of Riley looking as though he's an exhibit too.

Arrghhhh! We're in prison!

If only I could get out of here ... I'd rip your head off! LOL

This little guy was just about to shoot down his burrow when I shouted "Hey, I only want to take your photo" and he stopped and did a lovely pose for me. He was just the cutest!

And now for some stitching. I have hardly managed to fit any in for quite a few weeks now (apart from about 4 lines on the wings at Kathy's) and am well behind schedule with Magnolia. She has to be finished and in the framers no later than the end of the first week in May if I want to give her to mum for her birthday. I finished off her wings today and backstitched her top body and a bit of one wing, and here she is ...

Hope you all had a lovely weekend. I'm off to do some blog reading now, which is something else I've not done for quite a few weeks, so I might just be popping down your way in the next hour or so ;-)

A Walk in the Park

2010-03-06T17:06:00.000Z

We woke up to a beautiful spring day and decided to go out for a walk down by the river in our local park. I've taken Riley to this park many times, but we've always stayed on the top section, in the fields or on the playground. Today I decided to go further into the park and take him on a lovely woodland walk that I used to go on every week when I was a teenager and we had a dog at home, some 20 odd years ago!

Riley loved throwing stones into the river and making big splashes!

Hasn't he grown up :o)

Beautiful scenery. Fancy leaving it 20 years to come back here when it's only down the road.

Riley running off to see the strange tree we found. It looked like it had been hit by lightening and made a great 'playground'.

Riley thought we were at the seaside with all this sand.

And one final picture, just to prove spring really is on the way. Snowdrops!

Now for a hearty tea, bath and relax. Hope you all have a lovely weekend.

She's Baaaack!

2010-02-26T18:45:00.005Z

Celtic Autumn that is, all framed and looking pretty. She is huge! Unfortunately you can't tell that from the photo. I maybe should have stood Riley next to it to give you an idea, but a grubby fingered child and £150 worth of framing ... umm, probably a good job I didn't! It was a pretty dull day today so I had no option but to take a photo with the lights on, so I apologise for the reflection. She looks pretty neat though doesn't she?

Magnolia

2010-02-20T16:05:00.000Z

I have visitors this weekend. Kathy and her boys are here and we're having a stitchy weekend. Riley has been at his Dads up until lunchtime today and is currently running Kathy's boys ragged LOL. They all look totally shattered at the moment!

For lunch Kathy cooked us a lovely hearty winter soup. It was yummy!

Kathy has been working on her St Petersburg and I have to say it's absolutely beautiful! Just wait until she updates her blog. Meanwhile, I've spent my stitching time working on Magnolia. I'm pretty pleased with my progress so far. She's going to be a birthday present for my Mum in May. I want to make sure she's finished nice and early because I know if I leave her until the last minute I'll be panicking.

Hopefully I'll have another update for you at the end of the weekend. We still have a good few hours stitching to do!

Spring Ride

2010-02-08T11:39:00.000Z

It's been a long time since I last showed Spring Ride (Lanarte) so I thought I'd update you with a picture of where she is at the moment. She is so pretty and I'm really looking forward to starting work on her again.

She might make her first outing tonight if I get chance. Monday evenings are always busy for me as I attend slimming class and then have packed lunch to make and stuff to organise as it's back to work and Nursery on Tuesdays. You will definitely see her at some point this week though.

A Big Happy Dance!

2010-02-07T19:07:00.000Z

It took me a few years, but I got there in the end! Here she is, Celtic Autumn in all her glory.

Now to finish Spring Ride. She's about 75% done so I'm hoping to have her complete by the end of March.

Hope you all had a good weekend.

Magnolia

2010-02-06T16:02:00.001Z

A small start on Magnolia by Nora Corbett. I've been picking this one up for just a few minutes here and there.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Nearly There

2010-02-05T21:47:00.001Z

So nearly there. Just the sidebar to finish and beading to the bottom half of her dress.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Best Friends and Blogs

2010-02-03T20:50:00.000Z

Do you like my newly decorated blog? I've had the beige background and the cute kitten for a good 4 years now and decided it was time for a brand new, clean, fresh look. I once again asked my friend Gemmak to sort me out - she's good at that ;-) I must say that she's done a damn good job and I love it!

Now this is something I should have posted about in the New Year, but I didn't because my good camera had an unfortunate run in with a three year old having a major tantrum and ended up in a bit of a mess. Luckily it's all sorted now and working again ... well i hope it is although this photo isn't so good. See, I gotta blame the camera ;o) Anyway, my very good friend Kathy bought me a fab gift for Christmas. I haven't had anything in my Wish List for ages because I decided I just had far too much stash and far too little time to stitch, but knowing me so well, Kathy chose the perfect gift and spoiled me rotten as you can see from the photo below. Actually, my Christmas present was the Passione Ricamo chart and all those beautiful sparkly threads and beads, but then Kathy also gifted me with the gorgeous Sabrina too when she was up to visit a couple of weeks ago which is why I've shown both in the photo.

I have now kitted up Sabrina too and have decided that after I've finished Celtic Autumn (I will tell you about her progress further down the post) and Spring Ride, which is currently about 75% complete and should be finished my March or April, I will be stitching on one of these two beautiful projects. I'm not sure which yet ... maybe I'll let you decide!

So on to Celtic Autumn. She has been so 'nearly there' for ages. I really thought I'd have her finished last weekend. I didn't expect the oranges in her skirt to take me quite as long as they did. I did manage to get that bit done however and just have the yellow trim of her dress, her shoe, a little bit of the sidebar and the beading of the bottom half to do. This time I'm just going to say that she WILL be finished by the end of February. Mmm, I'm thinking that maybe I should try and persuade Riley's Daddy to have him at his house for a weekend ...

I also have Magnolia on the go which will be a present for my Mum on her birthday in May. No progress pictures as yet as she's just a little blob at the moment because I've been putting all my stitching time into Autumn.

Another Celtic Autumn Update

2010-01-28T12:59:00.001Z

A quick update photo of Celtic Autumn. I really want to get her finished this weekend as I'm desperate for a new start and have three projects completely kitted up and ready to go!

Yep, I definitely got my mojo back :-)

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Tribal Butterfly

2010-01-17T11:53:00.003Z

My first finish of 2010! This is Tribal Butterfly by Sparklies, stitched on Sparklies "Monarch" fabric. Isn't it pretty?

I seem to have my mojo back at last :-) Now back to Celtic Autumn and hopefully another finish very soon.

Very nearly

2010-01-12T12:15:00.000Z

I am very close to two finishes. One maybe this weekend. After a year of no finishes, bar one little present, I am excited already! Here's what I hope will be my last WIP photo of Tribal Butterfly.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Just a tester

2009-12-31T12:41:00.001Z

Just testing to see if I can work out how to post from my phone. Below should be a photo of Riley taken on Boxing Day.

I have been stitching too. Update to follow on that.

Are you on Facebook? I have a few of my stitching buddies on my friends list but there's a lot of you not. I tend to update on FB a lot more than here as I can do it from my phone, so if you'd like to be my FB buddy, send me an email and I'll add you.

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas and wishing you all the best for the New Year!
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

My First Finish of 2009

2009-12-20T21:32:00.004Z

This is my one and only finish for 2009. I stitched this Tatty Teddy, called Christmas Coat (an Anchor kit) for a work colleagues grandaughter who is the same age as Riley.

A really cutie isn't he. Can you see the sparkly thread in the snow and on his boots? Oh and yes, I have used lugana fabric and yes, I will be sticking with aida in future LOL. I was going ok with the ted until it came to the backstitching and then I really struggled. It's such a good job Kathy was up for the weekend and helped me out a lot with this bit :o) I stitched a little bit more of Celtic Autumn on Friday evening, concentrating on the gold swirls in her dress. Unfortunately I don't have a photo to show you yet as it didn't seem worth taking one for the small amount I got done on her.

I've had some yummy gifts from Kathy in my Advent calendar. Thank you so much Kathy - I've had so much fun opening them! Here are a couple of photo's of week two and week three's goodies:

I'll try and post a photo of my last few days Advent gifts on 24th, but just in case I don't get back online then, I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Advent Gifts

2009-12-08T21:09:00.003Z

When Kathy was down a few weeks ago she surprised me by handing me a huge bag of presents. I was pretty flabbergasted when she told me there was a gift for each day through advent for me. Wow Kathy! Just take a look at these goodies from the first eight days.

Just look at all those gorgeous colours in the floss, and the pretty pink compac mirror, pencils, soap, Ornies magazine. Did you spot the cute fob with the pineapple on the end attached to the pencils? Sooooo many goodies :oD !!! My most favourite item there though is the beautiful Guardian Angel.

Thank you so much Kathy and I'm so sorry it's taken me a week to do a post.

Best wishes everyone.

Dust and more dust!

2009-11-21T10:09:00.003Z

My house is filthy, but I can't complain. It's because I'm having a new kitchen. Work has been underway since last Sunday and the whole room has been taken back to basics. So far there's a new ceiling up, the electrical work is well under way and the base unit carcasses started to go in yesterday. There's quite a few photo's in my photo album if you want to see how the work is progressing.

No stitching to show at the moment as I'm not about to get CA out whilst there's all this dirt and dust around. Oh, and this isn't the 'change' I was talking about in my last post. That's still being sorted out so you'll just have to wait and see. Yeah I know, I'm sooo mean! LOL

There are changes afoot ...

2009-11-13T15:16:00.001Z

But I'm not telling you what just yet. You'll have to come back and visit me again to find out! He he he

Stitchy Weekend

2009-11-01T16:24:00.004Z

This weekend was mummy time! I don't get much of that so it was a real treat. Riley headed off for a weekend visit to his dads on Friday morning and Kathy arrived here with her two boys to stay for a couple of days. What a stitchy weekend we had! I got a fair bit done on Celtic Autumn, which put me in good standing to reach my goal of finishing her and having her on my wall by Christmas. Kathy had a happy dance whilst she was here, but you'll have to wait until she gets home later today to see it. It's a beauty and I would recommend you popping over to take a peek later on.

Before I load up the photo of CA, I just want to say thank you to all my readers. I really didn't think anyone came by here anymore after my long hiatus. It's been great to see that you're all still visiting :o)

Ok, so on to the photo:

Have a lovely week everyone!

Latest on Celtic Autumn

2009-10-18T20:46:00.004+01:00

I've managed a few more hours on Celtic Autumn today whilst Riley was spending time with his Grandparents, so I thought I'd show you a photo of her now:
(all photo's are clickable)

It's been a long time since I showed you any pictures of Riley. I've just looked back and it was January 1st! He's changed a lot since then. He's three years old now (can you believe that!) Here are some photo's of him taken on Saturday at the local park:

From Riley - 17/10/09

Don't you just love that big sulk at the end LOL.

It's been a long time ...

2009-10-07T20:19:00.003+01:00

It's been a long time since I last posted. Six months - the longest I've ever been away from my blog. It's been a hectic six months with lots going on, both good and bad, but I won't go into all that now.

During my time away, not only have I not been blogging, I haven't really been stitching either - just the odd hour or so here and there with sometimes a couple of months inbetween sessions. There has always been something else I needed to get done first. Anyway, this last week I've been on leave from work and so have caught up with lots of tasks I had fallen behind on, including fitting in some stitching time on Celtic Autumn.

Here is what she looked like last time you saw her:

and here is what she's looking like today:

Now I'm wondering if anyone will even see this update or whether I've lost all my readers with being away for so long. I hope not! It would be good to hear from you :o)

Tea Time

2009-04-28T19:02:00.008+01:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I last updated. I haven't been on the computer much at all in the last few months. Anyway, as I had to switch the 'puter on tonight to do some work, I thought I'd tell you about my cooking adventures today. You see, I don't cook. I'm terrible at it. But at the moment, needs must. Sooo, with a scrummy sounding chicken recipe from Kathy, who promised me this would be easy, I gave it a go. I have taken some photo's too just to prove to those of you who know me well that I REALLY did do it. LOL.

Firstly, yesterday Riley had a strange request. "Mummy, I want blue biscuits." is what he said. OK kiddo, if you want blue biscuits, you shall have blue biscuits. Actually, you shall have orange flavoured blue biscuits!

Yeah I know, they look kinda green. They do have a blue tinge if you look closely :o) If you close your eyes when you're eating them, or pretend you're Shrek, then they do taste pretty nice LOL.

Next up I did some crisp (chips) squashing and made Crispy Cheesy Chicken with mashed potatoes and veggies. As Kathy said, it was really easy and looked pretty good too ...

And ready to eat

Riley's pudding:

Aww, if you'd seen the look on his face when he saw his pudding. "Mummy!" he said, "I got BLUE BISCUITS!!!" and held them up to show me. Wish I'd had the camera at the ready for that one.

Stitching Update ... at last!

2009-01-27T22:38:00.003Z

I may not have been online much over the last week, but I have fitted a little stitching in. I came to the end of a page tonight so I thought I'd better show you how she's coming along.

Sorry about the awful photo. Best I could manage tonight. I'm shattered! I went to the gym straight from work (yep, I'm back at it) and then did a pile of ironing when I got home. I was determined to get some stitching in tonight though and really wanted to finish that section. Just another 4 pages to go ... and you thought she was nearly finished? LOL Umm, not quite - about 75% of the way there I think.

Spring Ride Update

2009-01-18T23:27:00.007Z

Kathy visited us on Saturday. We had a lovely time and even managed a couple of hours stitching after her two boys tired Riley out completely and he crashed in his room. Of course, because we spent some time stitching, which I have kind of got out of the habit of doing recently, I just had to get Spring Ride out last night and do a little on her. I even managed a couple more hours tonight and am now about two thirds of the way through this page. So, here's tonight's stitching update photo, though first I thought I'd better remind you where I was up to previously as this poor lady and her horse haven't seen the light of day since last August.

And as I left her tonight:

Sorry this is such a short post, but it's late and Casey cat is whining because she hasn't got her human belly bed to curl up on.

LOL Cats

2009-01-14T21:19:00.003Z

From one of my favourite 'non-stitchy' websites - LOLcats.

I hope this made you laugh as much as it did me!

Fast Off

2009-01-11T21:07:00.005Z

"Fast Off"
DMC Kit
stitched on kit fabric - white 16ct aida

I got to say welcome home to this little guy a couple of days ago. He's been gone a while, but for a good reason. You see I started stitching him maybe 4 or 5 years ago and hated it. You know the feeling, you love the picture, but for some reason you just really dislike stitching on it. He was put away and would probably never have seen the light of day again if Kathy hadn't heard his plight and saved him from the big dark UFO drawer. She's had him a couple of years and stitched on him when the fancy took her (I was in no rush for it back), and look! He's home, with a huge thank you to Kathy for all your time and patience with this project :o) You've done a grand job girl and he'll be framed and up on the wall very soon!

In my own stitching, I have worked a few stitches in Spring Ride over the weekend although not really enough to show an update. Hopefully I'll have some more time tomorrow and will update Tuesday.

In other news, my work rota changes from next week. I'll still be doing the same hours and still over three days, it's the actual days that have changed. I'm pretty happy about this as it does work out to my advantage, although I think it'll take a few weeks to get into a new routine.

I can't remember whether I mentioned last week that Alan and I started our photography course at college. Tomorrow night is our second lesson and this is when the fun really starts and we get to take our cameras out of the bag :o) Don't forget to pop over to my photography blog sometime to see how I'm getting along.

Hope you all had a good weekend. I should be back with a stitchy update soon.

Frogging

2009-01-08T22:24:00.003Z

See! I do listen to you all :o) The comments on my last post are almost a unanimous win for Spring Ride and a lot of you suggested that maybe I did the frogging on Sleigh Ride first off to get it out of the way. Sooooo, tonight I spent a few hours doing just that.

Before photo with the wrong colour blue in the sky (arching over the sun to the right).

And after.

I've put Sleigh Ride away now, but at least I know that when I do next pull it out, I haven't got to start off with all that horrid frogging.

I was wondering how come you all thought I was very near to finishing Spring Ride, then I noticed the progress bar said 75% complete. I think I boobed a little there as I'm actually only about half way through her. The next 3 pages across her middle consist of very dense stitching (mostly white and pale cream) and there's still another row of pages under those. Yikes! But anyway, she's out next and will be worked on until she's complete. See you in 2010 then ha ha ha!

Thank you for all your input and helping me sort out my quandary. Oh, and Kathryn in NZ, just let me know when you're ready to start on Mermaids of the Deep Blue.

OK, Back to stitching

2009-01-07T20:32:00.002Z

My New Year's resolution - to stitch more!

And how much stitching have I done in the last 7 days? Zilch, zero, none, none, none! You want to know why? Well, it's because I can't make my mind up WHAT to stitch on. I want to go back to stitching one project at a time to completion and I don't know what to do first. My options are:

1. Complete Celtic Autumn

2. Complete Spring Ride

3. Start a new project - Mermaids of the Deep Blue

4. Complete Tribal Butterfly

5. Frog a massive section and complete Sleigh Ride

6. New start - Lucien, Wizard of Fire by Black Swan

I just can't make my mind up. Come on guys, what do you think I should do first?

How Bizarre

2009-01-04T15:17:00.005Z

Yesterday I had a bit of a clear-out in the bedroom to make room for my new printer (my Christmas present off Alan) and our camera equipment. This needed to be done as Alan had been using my stitching cupboard as a dumping ground for his stuff and it was beginning to drive me mad.

First off I cleared out my computer desk, which is next to my side of the bed, then I rearranged my stitching cupboard so that I could use the end section for my camera equipment. Lastly I needed to find space for Alan's stuff. His computer desk, which is exactly the same as mine, but buried under a foot of crap, stands next to his side of the bed and at the end of the bed on the same side is my stitching corner.

With all the clearing and tidying done of my side of the bed and my stitching cupboard, I set about emptying out Alan's desk. I did ask his permission first and to tell you the truth, I think he was pleased I was doing it as it really needed sorting out and you know what men are like ... it'll always be done tomorrow lol. So, I worked through the desk methodically, making piles as I went - rubbish, software, printer paper, paperwork for filing, stuff I had no idea what it was, etc. When I eventually lifted out the last of the printer paper from the very bottom of his desk something rattled, so I stuck my arm back in and to my amazement I pulled out these:

These are the very scissors that have been missing for months. I had twice searched my whole stash - inside wip folders, charts, thread boxes, everywhere I keep stitching stuff, but to no avail. I searched the whole house! Everywhere ... apart from Alan's computer desk. I mean why on earth would they be in there? I had decided they must've slipped down the side of the sofa and disappeared into the depths of landfill somewhere when we bought the new sofa's last February. Now that really p'd me off as apart from the fact that they were lovely scissors, they were also attached to a beautiful sparkly fob handmade for me by Nicole.

But hey, I found them and I can't believe I've been stitching, sleeping and computing all within 3 feet of them all this time and didn't know they were there lol. And the bizarre thing? Well, when I looked back at my blog before writing this post, to see when I actually received the fob from Nicole, it was 3rd January 2008 ... and the date I found it again? 3rd January 2009. How bizarre is that?

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T21:46:00.009Z

Here we are again at the start of a brand new year. I hope it's a good one for all my internet buddies and their families!

I hope this post doesn't take too long to load up for you. It's pretty photo heavy as I have a lot to show you.

Christmas was especially good fun this year with this being the first Christmas where Riley has been old enough to understand some of what's going on. I haven't actually got any Christmas day photo's for you as we video'd it and forgot to take photo's too. Oops! I can tell you that Riley had a fab time though and was really quite disappointed when he came downstairs on Boxing Day and Father Christmas hadn't left him more presents! Sorry son, you'll have to wait a whole year before he visits you again.

On Monday (29th) we took Riley on a very special outing to see his first live show. The MEN Arena (Manchester Evening News Arena) had a two day showing of CBeebies Live. I booked the tickets in September and was a little dubious really. I thought maybe he'd be a little too young and lack the concentration to sit through a full show. How wrong was I! He loved it! All 1 hour 45 minutes of it. The young chap was in his element. Here are some photo's. They're not wonderful because of the distance we were from the stage and obviously because it was dark, but they are clear enough to see. All are clickable.

Riley entranced at CBeebies Live

The large giraffe (I couldn't work out if it was animatronic or a costume with people inside.

Riley laughed his head off at this elephant. He thought it was great.

Having a great time!

The Tweenies. They sang Riley's favourite song - Horsey, Horsey, don't you stop. He couldn't believe it. They knew HIS song. He was hooting with excitement.

And if I thought he was excited before, it was nothing compared to when his favourite characters came on stage - The Teletubbies!

Justin Fletcher as Mr Tumble. Justin is an excellent presenter on CBeebies and he also teaches the kids sign language too. If you can get CBeebies on your TV and you have young children, try and watch out for his show - Something Special. It really is something special and your kids will love it.

The Koala Brothers and another of the CBeebies presenters - Andy.

Characters from Lazy Town, Jakers and Boo.

It's pretty cold around these parts at the moment and we're told it's going to get colder. I don't think the temperature has risen above zero for 4 or 5 days now. I know some of you live where it is much, much colder, but this is COLD to us here in the UK. Today we wrapped up warm and took a walk in the park. Yep, more photo's to show you ...

The white foreground in this photo is actually the duck pond, totally frozen over.

I have published some more photo's on my photo blog. If you're not already sick of looking at photo's then pop over and take a look. There are some cute close up ones of Riley.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

A Beautiful Gift!

2008-12-23T21:21:00.005Z

Recently Riley has been raiding our post. On one recent occasion when I was upstairs as the postman called and didn't realise he'd been, I found two open letters sprawled across the lounge floor, one of them was only half a letter (page 2) and it took me ages to find the other half which had been 'posted' underneath a cupboard. He beat me to it again today and when I realised what he had in his hands he kindly presented me with an opened Christmas card (only a little scrunched up) and a package that was obviously too hard for him to raid before I caught him.

I didn't have much trouble getting into the package though, especially when I saw who'd posted it! Carol made me this beautiful ornament and sent it along with a little note wishing me a happy birthday and Christmas.

We haven't put the tree up this year as electrical items and Riley do not mix well at all at the moment. Neither do Riley and ornaments or Riley and lights LOL. We have however tried to make our lounge as Christmassy as possible without the tree and I have placed my gorgeous ornament in the lap of my cuddly (and safely out of reach of little hands) penguin, where it will stay until the decorations come down.

Thank you so much Carol for the gorgeous and totally unexpected gift! It's ever so pretty :o)

Have a lovely Christmas everyone!

It's Christmas!

2008-12-22T20:05:00.005Z

Sorry it's been so long since I last updated. It's been a pretty hectic and odd couple of weeks. Lots of things happening that I can't blog about, but there is some stuff I can, like my birthday last week. Some of you have great memories and send me lovely birthday wishes even though I haven't even mentioned my birthday at all this year! Thank you!

I got a stitchy gift too. From Kathy.

Wow Kathy! You didn't 'alf spoil me! Just look at that for a package of stitching goodness! He's Lucien by Black Swan along with all the Kreiniks, beads and fabric for him. Now this one is definitely a new start for next year. Thank you :o)

I don't currently have a stitchy update for you. As I said earlier, things have been a bit, well lets just say I've not had any more chances to stitch than I have to update recently.

I probably wont be back on again before Christmas Day seeing as it's only a couple of days away, so have a lovely time everyone, whatever you're doing.

Father Christmas

2008-12-10T16:02:00.005Z

Riley had his first ever trip to see Father Christmas today. He wasn't at all shy or worried. He just walked up to him with a big grin on his face.

Receiving his gift. It was a book - The A-Z of Horses (???) I guess Riley will know all there is to know about horses over the next few months ha ha ha.

And because it was so quiet, no queues, no other kids, we were the only ones there, Father Christmas also gave Riley a packet of Jaffa Cakes.

I was quite disappointed as I remember going to see Father Chistmas when I was a kid and there were always beautifully decorated Grotto's with Elve helpers and sometimes even a sleigh ride (sitting in a sleigh with moving pictures on the walls that made it feel like you were moving) to see the man himself. This guy today though, and the ONLY Father Christmas in the (very large) town where we live, was just shoved in an alcove in the shop with that large gold and red chair. That was it. Just an alcove next to the toy section - not even hidden behind curtains or anything. Not really very exciting for the kids, is it? Riley actually had more fun with his first ride on an escalator. He made us go back down on another one then back up again :o)

Help!

2008-11-28T21:29:00.003Z

We're doing a Secret Santa at work and I wanted to make my person a coaster with a cross stitch pattern of a tea cup and her name on it. I've spent hours already looking for a freebie chart of a tea cup or similar. Does anyone know of one? Can you help?

My coaster will give a square design area of 3.25 inches max and I've got just two weeks until we go for our Christmas meal and exchange the gifts! If you've got anything or know of anything that you think will be suitable, please can you let me know.

Hugs to all.

**edited to add
Many thanks to everyone who contacted me with links to freebies and to Barbara who sent me a lovely chart and Hazel who sent me a great magazine with some tea cups in too! I should be able to start this weekend :o)

Lurgified

2008-11-15T16:29:00.010Z

Is that a word? I very much doubt it LOL. Two weeks ago today Riley came down with some horrible cold virus and very kindly shared it with us all. My mum started with it on the Monday, me on the Wednesday and Alan succumbed last weekend. Not nice at all. Mum and Riley were both really ill with it, but luckily I wasn't quite as bad which is a good job seeing as I started with it the very day I went back to work after my surgery. Everyone is well on the way to recovery now thankfully.

Do you remember way back in August I showed you a photo of my new stitching corner? I had been using it, but not as much as I would like as it was pretty uncomfortable. The chair was so uncomfortable that I could only just manage about 30 minutes at a time without being very sore in lower back/coccyx region. Here's the photo again to remind you:

In the last couple of weeks we have made some rather nice changes to my little stitching nook. First off I got a new chair. Nothing fancy, just a solid chair with a bit of padding for my posterior. Then last weekend that little white fold-away table was kicked into touch too. Just look at my little space now!

Doesn't that look so much better? I love it! I now have loads of storage space too for all my stash. Want a look inside?

On the left are my charts with my frames underneath. My fabric is in the bottom drawer and the next drawer up contains all my bits and bobs. The next two drawers are still empty and the top one I have kept for storage of my current project. On the right you can see my thread boxes on the top with all my ~~UFO's~~WIP's neatly stored and labelled underneath.

Another great benefit of this new set-up, which I hadn't thought about until I came to actually use it, is that because the cupboard is higher than the little table, my chart is at a better height for reading. I no longer have to peer over my glasses at my chart then shove them back up my nose to stitch :o)

So now I have no excuses not to stitch, I'd better show you a photo of what I've been working on. A couple of weeks ago Kathy came over for a visit and she left me a reel of invisible thread. I've never beaded before so she gave me a quick lesson using the invisible thread and away I went!

I am loving how she is looking now with all the beads. My plan is to work the top and side border sections until I'm level with her elbows, then I'll move back onto her dress and get that finished up. I would love to have her finished by Christmas, but I think that might be a tad optimistic.

One thing I realised whilst going through my stash and reorganising it is that I've lost my beautiful pink Gingher scissors - the ones with the gorgeous sparkly keyfob that Nicole made for me. I just can't believe it. They have been missing for a couple of months but I was pretty sure I would find then when I went through all my stash. In the last two weeks my stash has been gone through twice with a fine toothed comb and they are not there :o( I just have no idea where they could be. I am so fanatical about putting things away in their right places that I very rarely lose anything. I am seriously p'd off with myself about it. I just can't think where else to look.

Anyway, I took a great video of Riley chatting today on my cellphone. I would have put it on here today, but thought maybe this post was a bit photo heavy as it is, so I'll update with that in a couple of days.

Enjoy your weekend everyone.

Prizes and Pressies

2008-10-27T21:04:00.007Z

Earlier this month I won a competition on Petra's blog for a copy of Cross Stitcher magazine which had with it a great calendar full of Margaret Sherry designs. I love Margaret Sherry's little critters and I was over the moon to win. I was even more over the moon on Saturday morning when the postman arrived to deliver my prize and then totally stunned when I opened the parcel from Petra and found ALL THIS inside:

Riley has pulled the sticker book over my magazine, but it is there in the photo. You should have seen Riley bouncing around like a jumping bean when he realised that all this stuff was for him! He was so excited. I only just managed to take this photo before he was off with the sticker book and the Crayola colouring set.

Can you see at the back of the picture the Pez candy? I remember those candies with the cute dispensers from when I was a kid, but I've not seen them for years and didn't even think they did them anymore. I'm pretty sure they weren't called Pez over here. It was quite nostalgic seeing them again. Here are some photo's of Riley working out how to use it. I just love his expressions lol.

and one last photo of Riley in one of the really cool t-shirts Petra sent through. I made Riley do 'so big' with his arms so you could see the picture. This is my favourite shirt - I just love how the bugs make a skull. Riley's favourite is the dinosaur one.

Thank you so much Petra. You really made my day and I'm pretty sure you made Riley's too!

Things a two year old shouldn't know

2008-10-14T21:41:00.002+01:00

Alan was going out. He was taking Riley with him so I was getting Riley ready with coat and shoes whilst Alan got himself ready.

Sitting on the floor I first put Riley's shoes on. Riley had a thing about feet a while back after he got a blister on his little toe from flooding his wellington boots.

Mummy - "one shoe, two shoes!"
Riley - "mummy (in that 'are you stupid woman' voice), sore feet."
Mummy - "come on, stand up while I put your coat on. Your feet aren't sore anymore. All better now."
Riley - (louder) "Mummy! Sore feet."

In comes Daddy and takes Riley down to the car, straps him in the safety seat, messes about for a few minutes and then heads back towards the house.

Alan - "You dopey sod."
Karen - "What????"
Alan - "You put his shoes on the wrong feet!

Riley told me and I didn't listen. Bad, bad Mummy ... but I'm sure a two year old shouldn't know that his shoes were on the wrong feet!

Oh Me Darlin', Oh Me Darlin', Oh Me Daaaarlin' ....

2008-10-06T19:54:00.003+01:00

A child free day today gave me the perfect opportunity to put a few stitches into Celtic Autumn and Tribal Butterfly.

I would have got more done on my lovely lady, but the frogs got in the way. I'd just finished off one of the letters when I turned it over and noticed there was a big loop of thread that hadn't pulled through, right near the beginning. I must admit that I did think about leaving it, then decided I really ought to be a good stitcher and sort out the mess.

In other news, Riley has a cold again, but it's not too bad. He's pretty miserable with it at night, but during the day he's fine. And me? I was doing well until my little monster had a strop and kicked me hard, twice, in the stomach while laying on the sofa next to me. I don't think he's done anything serious, but it hurt and has left me with a grumbly 'period' type pain. Alan thinks maybe he's bruised me again inside. He doesn't usually strop that often anymore. Since he's been talking he's a lot calmer so we're putting this down to the fact that the cold kept him awake last night and he was shattered.

He was so cute last night - I dropped a magazine off my knee and he bent down, picked it up and handed it back to me saying "Here y'are darling". I say it quite often, but it sounded so funny coming from him.

Kathy's Visit

2008-10-05T14:36:00.012+01:00

Kathy and her two boys paid us a quick visit today to drop off Riley's birthday present on her way home from her Aunts. It's a long time since we last saw each other - maybe 18 months or so, so of course we chatted stitching while the boys played.

Riley had a great time playing with Guy and Mark. I took some video and photo's of the three boys, but isn't it always the way that when something really cute happens (like Riley and Guy having a hug), the camera if off!

Kathy's twins, Guy and Mark with Riley playing ball:

and this short video is Kathy trying her best to confuse Riley with who's who LOL

They'll all be down again in a month, but staying the full day rather than having to shoot off home after a couple of hours like today. Maybe Kathy and I will get some stitches in! :o)

Thanks for coming over Kathy, it was lovely to see you all!

Better late than never

2008-09-26T14:25:00.002+01:00

The stash I ordered in July from Stitching Bits and Bobs has finally arrived. I love all three of the charts and I am planning on starting Fish City early next year for Riley.

We had a good 5 minute conversation Riley and I, about the picture on the front of the leaflet, which is really good for one so young. He first pointed out "cars" then realised what they were and said "oooh fish!" I find it fascinating what they actually understand already, like he knew the big fish was a bus and the 'lights on' in the buildings, "babeeee" in the pram etc lol. What made me really laugh was when he started pointing out the colours "wed fiss ... boo fiss ... lellow fiss, an anoder lellow fiss, an anoder lellow fiss, an ANODER lellow fiss!" Too cute!

Going back to my stash haul. I'm really not keen on the fabric. It is a lot darker than I thought it'd be. It was for Murky Manor which I was hoping to stitch this year, but with the delay in receiving it, that isn't going to happen now. I think I'll order a different piece when I'm ready to stitch this.

The new project I started stitching for Alan isn't worthy of a photo yet. I am finding it really hard going already and I've only put in about 100 stitches. For a kit, and an Anchor one at that, I amazed what a terrible chart this is. The french knot symbols completely cover what the stitch underneath should be (and it's not always obvious from the stitches around it) and talk about confetti stitching!!! I am hating this project, but it's for Alan and I can't let it become a UFO. I CANT!

She Has a Face!

2008-09-21T13:51:00.003+01:00

She has a face at last! I think I'm nearly at the same point I was when I first stitched this on the evenweave, before I gave her away because I was struggling. I'm pretty sure I'd just finished stitching the AUTUMN letters but not any of the skirt originally. Anyway, here she is:

She's now back in the cupboard for a week or two as I've had a special request! Alan has asked me to stitch a kit I bought a while back for him. It's another biggie, but I couldn't say no after all the hard work he has put into running around after me, looking after Riley and the house while I'm recuperating. So this afternoon will be spent winding kit thread (I think it's Anchor) onto bobbins and getting everything ready to start. So what is this new start? Well, it's an Anchor Premier Collection kit and it's NOT the St George one. You'll just have to wait and see :oD

Stitching again

2008-09-19T22:46:00.003+01:00

I had another go at stitching yesterday and found I was much more comfortable than earlier in the week. I am pretty happy with the progress I've made over the last two days.

I'm hoping to finish her hair and get started on her face tomorrow. I have to take it slowly, half an hour here and there otherwise I get a little achy and sore.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Stash Alert! Stash Alert!

2008-09-16T15:26:00.002+01:00

I have good stash news and bad stash news. I'll share the good stuff first :o)

Look what I received from Carol just before I went into hospital. Yep, it's the magazine with Trick or Treat in it. I first came across this on Carols blog as she started stitching it virtually as soon as the magazine was published (see her gorgeous finish here) and went in search of the magazine myself. I had no joy at all so Carol very kindly sent me a copy as a 'get well' gift. Actually, Carol wrote in the card (don't you think that card is so cute!) that her DH went out and got it and put it in the post for me. A BIG THANK YOU to both of you!

Next up another good stash report. When I went to the Bakewell Show back in August I met Kate from Sparklies and she has some gorgeous fabrics. One, a solo, particularly took my interest but Kate only had it on evenweave, so she very kindly specially dyed another piece on aida for me. Lookee here:

I 'think' Kate has named this fabric 'Dalmation'. It's so cute and will look great when I find just the right chart for it. I was thinking November Topaz Fairy ... what do you think? The photo above shows the side Kate had as the front (face out in the package), but I also like the back. The dots are bigger and more 'splodgier'.

I'll have to decide which side to use when I've chosen a project to stitch on it.

Now the not so good. On 28th July I ordered some stash from Stitching Bits and Bobs and it hasn't arrived. I have checked up on the status and it says that the order is waiting for a piece of out of stock Picture This Plus fabric. I contacted them about three weeks ago to be told it should be in 'in a couple of days' and it still isn't! I just wrote to them again and requested they send the order minus the fabric. I really wanted to stitch one of the charts I ordered for Riley for Halloween. I thought the package would be here by mid August at the latest, now, by the time it's shipped there's not much chance of me finishing it in time.

On 13th July I ordered three Fat Halfs of fabric from Heaven Lee Creations. I received one of the automated order receipts and have not heard a peep since, even though I have emailed. I just wrote to them again cancelling the order and telling them what I thought of the customer service. I really wanted that fabric too. Has anyone else ever had any dealings with this company? The only good thing I can say is that they haven't taken any money from my account.

On a more positive note, I did get to stitch on Celtic Autumn for just under an hour last night before sitting in that position got too uncomfortable and I had to stop. LOL did I say positive note? I spent the first half hour frogging. Grrrr at those dreaded frogggggs ;o)

Hello :o)

2008-09-12T20:36:00.002+01:00

It's all over and I'm home (actually yesterday afternoon)... and very relieved :o)

I just read the post that Alan wrote on Tuesday and I don't remember coming back from theatre at all, or him being there. He said that I told him everything was ok, but I don't remember that at all lol. The first thing I remember after feeling that cold sensation of the anaesthetic working its way up my arm was waking up back in my bed on the ward at about 1pm, and being starving!

I was down in theatre a bit longer than was planned and the rest of the mornings list were cancelled and sent home. I feel a little guilty about that as I know how it feels to be all psyched up and then it not happening. It was expected that the operation would take about 45 minutes and I'd be back on the ward at about 10ish including the anaesthetic room and recovery. According to Alan they brought me out of recovery at 11.30am. The operation was performed by the Registrar and the Consultant, both of which I know, trust and like, and that really helped. When I spoke to the Registrar later on Tuesday she told me that it had been rather tricky as things inside were a bit stuck together and there was also some Endometriosis.

The rest of Tuesday was spent either sleeping or staring at the ceiling as I wasn't allowed to sit up. Wednesday I was up and out of bed, catheter and drip removed by lunchtime and just tootling about the ward and chatting to the other two ladies in there with me and waiting for visiting time. That's when we had a little bit of a drama. Just as visiting time was coming to an end I began to feel really tired and Alan helped me back into bed. As soon as I lay down I couldn't breathe properly. It felt like only the top inch or so of my lungs would allow air in and I was having to pant to get a breath. The nurses rushed in and stuck me on oxygen and took my stats. My oxygen levels were way low. Before I knew it I had two nurses, a Registrar (one I didn't know) my Consultant and the Anaesthetist around my bed. Then I was whisked off for a chest xray. The xray results were clear so I still don't know what caused that to happen, but I had to stay on the oxygen until after breakfast on Thursday as every time they took me off it my stats went down again. After that though everything was fine and I've not had any breathing problems since.

I did get to have a quick chat with the Consultant whilst all that was going on and he said that my insides were "a bloody mess" (he doesn't mince his words lol) and that my bowel, ovaries, tubes and bladder were all stuck together and there was a lot of scar tissue from previous operations. It was a bit difficult to separate everything. So, it seems I made the right choice by having this operation doesn't it? It makes me realise why I felt so crap all the time and I'm really looking forward to getting back on my feet again now.

So, I'm home. Minimal pain relief - only paracetamol and on a scale of 1-10, I would say the pain is about a 3, and that's mainly from feeling a bit bruised. It was all done laparascopically so I only have 4 really small, maybe an inch long but no more, cuts, and no stitches. They glued me back together! Now that is novel lol. It feels soooo much better. None of that pulling or feeling like you're gonna tear open when you move. It's great stuff :o) Apart from that my tum looks like I have an 8 month pregnancy in there, but that'll go down over the next few weeks and I should be back at work in about 6 weeks.

So that's me. All done. Happy to be home and looking forward to feeling better than I have in years :o)

Operation day

2008-09-09T13:25:00.003+01:00

******* PLEASE NOTE This is Karen's other half ! *******

Well the day began at 5.50 am, and the usual British weather prevailed, yep, wet and very windy. Riley was dropped off at K's mum and dads, who looked after him this morning, basically because I wanted to be there, and of course she who must be obeyed decreed that I should be there lol......

The local NHS trust has an open door policy with regards to visits, come and go as you wish within reason. Well we found out the ward Karen is on, that visiting is restricted to 2pm - 4 pm and 7 pm - 8pm evenings!

This policy extends to husbands/partners being on the ward whilst their better halves are getting ready for theatre, which did and does seem a bit harsh. So I was reduced to waiting in the corridor, from 8.30 (when she went to theatre) until 11.30 (when she was wheeled back to the ward).

She sailed throught the op, don't think she will remember me walking alongside of her heading back to the ward, as she was completely out of it. ( wonders of drugs lol)

Suffice to say she is alive and well, and to date the op went as planned, I will visit her tonight, with Riley as he really is missing mummy, but it will only be a short visit. Really just about ten mins to ensure us both she is ok and for her to see her "little man".

I did promise her that I would report that all was well, to her friends on here.

To say she was scared would be an understatement, but as ever she faced it like a trooper and fingers crossed she will be home on thursday.

Many thanks to you all for all your best wishes!

The Girl done good!!!

Not chatty

2008-09-07T21:14:00.006+01:00

I'm not in a chatty mood. I'm nervous and stressed. The run-up to the surgery date this time feels a lot worse than it did in August. I wish it was this time next week and all over.

Maybe I'll get more time to stitch while I'm recuperating and unable to do the housework :o)

Edited to add: Chiloe asked for a reminder of when my surgery is - it's this Tuesday (9th) in the morning.

Celtic Autumn

2008-09-02T22:14:00.002+01:00

Last night I didn't get to stitch until 10pm, but as it was the first day on the Celtic Lady SAL restart, I was determined to put in a few threads. Here's how I left her in December last year:

and here she is now:

It took me a while to get into her again and I think it's because I've spent a few days on Spring Ride stitching with just one thread on 16ct and moving back to two threads and 14ct it felt wrong and bulky. By tonight though she felt 'loved' again :o)

Spring Ride SAL and Tribal Butterfly

2008-08-31T21:55:00.001+01:00

Carol is well ahead of me on Spring Ride at the moment and having a little break from our SAL. I thought she wouldn't mind if I did a little extra ;o) so I left her on my stand all week and did a bit here and there. It's great having a stitching area again!

I even managed a little bit on Tribal Butterfly.

I'm quite pleased with how these photographs came out tonight. The colours on both are just about right even though they were taken after dark using my stitching lamp. Mind you, the clip-on lamp I have set up in my corner is my newer lamp - the one I got for Christmas last year off my mum and it has a much better bulb in it.

Tomorrow brings the 'new' start on our Celtic Lady SAL and I shall be digging her out and putting a couple of hours in.

Today has been overcast and really humid. Too sticky to stay indoors, so this morning we went out for a walk. We have a large country park on our doorstep and rarely use it, so we thought that rather than take Riley to the regular park, we'd have a walk in there for a change. Riley found out the hard way what happens when you grab a hand full of nettles :o( He also found out what happens when you decide to jump in puddles that are deeper than the top of your wellies!!! We had to carry him most of the way back minus his wellies and socks after emptying/wringing them out. I wish I'd thought to take the camera with us :oD

My Stitching Corner

2008-08-24T21:28:00.006+01:00

I live in a typically small 'English' two up, two down. Downstairs we have a decent sized living room and a teeny tiny kitchen that is a squash for even one person. Upstairs we have two bedrooms and a small bathroom.

The living room is where I used to have my stitching 'corner', with my lamp and floor stand permanently set up and a cupboard for my threads, wips and stash. A nice little set-up and if you can think back a couple of years, you'll remember how much stitching I used to do. Fast forward 18 months or so and suddenly my stitching corner was no longer my safe little haven. Add one now mobile child pulling at my light and nearly toppling my floor stand and able to open cupboard doors. Not exactly baby safe, so my stitching stuff got carted off upstairs and put away in various cupboards and drawers. It got to be such a PITA to bring everything back downstairs each time I wanted to stitch and then take it all back up after an hour or two stitching, that I just couldn't be bothered most of the time. (I tried to stitch in-hand, but didn't get along with that at all.)

I missed stitching a lot and a couple of months ago I started the butterfly as a small project that I could stitch on while sitting on my bed. I don't find this particularly comfortable so it didn't happen much. I really thought I wouldn't get my stitching mojo back properly until Riley was older and I could bring it all back downstairs again.

BUT ... TaDaaaaaa!!!

I hope you're not laughing at my newly designed stitching corner! ;o) Yes, I set all my stuff up in the corner of my bedroom. I really didn't think there'd be enough room, but it 'just' fits in. I have my stand, my lamp and a little table to put my threads and chart on. The chair was given to me by my Dad specifically for the purpose (it had to be small to fit in the space). A mish-mash I know, but it serves it's purpose well and I have a stitching corner again that I don't have to dismantle every time I've used it :o)

Just ignore the wires and the tv/digibox hovering over my head ... but keep your fingers cross that it never decides to fall on me! It has been quite helpful actually as I've managed to fix my clip-on Daylight lamp to the back of the tv bracket and it's in the perfect place. You can see it just under the digibox in the photo.

Today, for the first time I got to use my corner and have put a couple of hours into Spring Ride. I know it doesn't look much different from last time you saw it, but if you look carefully between the peach ribbon and the flowers at the bottom, you can see where I've started on her dress. I have LOTS of cream and white to stitch in this section so you wont really see much change for a while.

I'm planning on leaving her in the stand for a couple of weeks and nipping upstairs to put a couple of stitches in here and there whilst Riley is napping and in the evenings. I would just love to get her finished and up on my wall before the end of the year.

I would also like to add a big Thank You to those of you who have given me an award recently. I started to write out a post with all the relevant info, but I just couldn't select the 5 or 7 blogs I had to nominate for each one. I love reading all your blogs. So I apologise to you all for not carrying this on, but please be assured that I am 'chuffed to bits' that you thought of me and enjoy my blog :o)

Two Today!

2008-08-20T20:20:00.007+01:00

You know, I just can't believe he's two already. Where has that time gone? The three of us and my Mum and Dad went out for a meal at lunch time. Riley had a great time and was very well behaved. Here he is ready to go:

While we were waiting for the food, Riley and I played a little game of pretending to kiss each other and blowing raspberries instead. He thinks this is so funny and was saying "Again" after each one. After a while I stopped and said "That's enough now." (You know how monotonous these games get after the 200th time). Riley came back with a lovely smile and said "one more?" When did my son learn to communicate so well? When did he learn his colours, to count to three and recognise some of the single digit numbers written (like on the tv remote), the hundreds of different objects he can name and when did HE tell ME what he wants for his meals? LOL He can suddenly do all this when it only seems days ago he was a baby. Granted he is sometimes hard to understand and we have to ask him to repeat himself or show us, but most of the time he gets his message across very eloquently.

Having a quick drink of juice before his meal arrives:

Enjoying his pudding - Funky Fruit Dippers, which was pieces of fresh fruit (orange, apple, banana, grapes) with a small tub of both custard and chocolate sauce for dipping. That's my mum helping him out.

When Riley first started on solids I was worried he would be picky like me and not like all the stuff that is good for him, like his veggies. I needn't have worried. His veggies are the first things to disappear off his plate every meal and he loves fruit. He would eat it every meal if we let him. Anyway, I'm getting off topic here, so ...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RILEY!
YOU ARE MUMMY AND DADDY'S LITTLE STAR!
WE HOPE YOU HAD A WONDERFUL DAY TODAY.

A Little Game - Who are you people?

2008-08-17T20:38:00.003+01:00

I got this one from Andie's blog. Go on, give it a go and leave me a comment ...

1. As a comment on this post, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember! And if we've never met in real life, leave me a comment of your favorite post I wrote and why it was your favorite.

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually really funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Another First

2008-08-16T20:17:00.002+01:00

Riley's first night in a 'proper' bed!

These photo's were taken about 10 minutes ago. He'd been up in his bedroom an hour and it'd gone really quiet so we just sneaked up to see if he'd actually gone to sleep in his bed. :o)

Did I Mention Latex?

2008-08-14T21:01:00.004+01:00

Hi everyone. I am back home, uncut and still with all the internal organs I was born with. What happened you are probably wondering?

Well, I got up at 5.30am, had a quick drink of water (I could drink water until 6am but not eat after midnight), showered and ready to leave for the hospital at 6.30am when my parents arrived to look after Riley. I was admitted to the ward at 7am, gowned up, name tag on my wrist, had my bloods done and all the admittance forms completed and signed. I saw the anaesthetist and that went fine even with the slight cough I still have. I spoke to the surgeon and that went ok too. I was all set to go down to theatre imminently when the nurse popped her head around the curtain. "I have bad news for you Karen" she said. "They have decided that they wont go ahead with your operation today because of your sensitivity to Latex."

Now every time I have been asked at the hospital about allergies I say none, but I am sensitive to Latex. It makes me itch, but that's it. I said it all the way through my pregnancy AND at my pre-op the other week. NOW, just as I am about to go to theatre they decide they want to test me to see if I am actually allergic to the stuff and not just sensitive. What a time to choose. I was so pissed off.

Apparently because I am sensitive and I had the C/section 2 years ago, there is a chance that I am now allergic. I'm not sure how it works, but the more contact with the stuff the more my sensitivity could become worse, something like you could be stung by a bee and have a very minor reaction, but next time you are stung you could have developed a serious allergy and have a major reaction, hence the allergy tests. If I am allergic, the operation will go ahead but the theatre will have to be specially prepared in advance and I will have be the first to go down to theatre on the day. So today has been spent having more needles. Five to be precise, including another of those in my stomach that I've been having each month. You know, the one that they will only every give a maximum of four of ... I have now had seven. I did question it and was told the doctors are happy for me to have it. At the end of the day it was either have another injection of this stuff or have to start the whole process over again in 6 months or so when my body has had a rest. We eventually got home at about mid day.

Do you get the idea I'm a little fed up with this? Anyway, I have another date (umm, is this the 4th different date now?) of 9th September. We shall see ...

Hey, it's nice to see you all again so soon. I am happy really. I feel like I got early release for good behaviour! On a serious note though, it has been a mega stressful day.

Alan & Riley went to the park .... alone

2008-08-11T19:48:00.009+01:00

When pictures speak louder than words ...

The Stitches Needlecraft Show

2008-08-10T20:13:00.003+01:00

I know I said yesterdays post would probably be the last for a while, but I wasn't expecting to get out and about today.

The weather really couldn't decide what it wanted to do this morning. One minute it was sunny and the next it was throwing it down. We decided to take our chances and go out anyway, so Alan, Riley and I headed off to Bakewell in Derbyshire as there was a Needlework show on this weekend. The weather held out for us and the only time we got wet was getting from the car to the house when we got home.

The show was only quite small but there were some lovely stalls and some great stitched pieces on show. The best bit for me though was meeting some fellow stitching bloggers! Kate was there from Kitty Scritchings with a stall of her gorgeous Sparklies hand-dyed fabric and threads. Of course I just had to buy some of her gorgeous fabric while I was there.

As usual, the lighting here isn't too good and doesn't show the fabrics at their best. The fabric at the back is called Parma Violets and the front one is Slightly Summer. They are very pretty IRL. The overdyed threads are for my second Tribal Butterfly. Yes, I'm going to stitch it again once I've finished the one I'm doing, this time using the coloured threads and a plain fabric. You can see a photo of what it will look like on the Sparklies site, here. It was lovely to meet Kate at last. We have been reading each others blogs for years. We had a little chat and she also introduced me to a couple of the other stitching bloggers who were there. It would be good to all meet up for a stitching day sometime. Anyone up for it?

We also spent a little time in the village itself. It is a very pretty part of the country. Well worth a visit if you're ever in the area (and it has a fab needlework shop) Because there had been a big agricultural show on over the previous 3 days, it was very busy. We were starving when we arrived and the eating places were jam packed so we ended up with a chippy lunch and then went to listen to a live band that was playing. All in all we had a lovely day out.

And how could I sign off without a photo of young Riley. Here he is eating his lunch. He's never had a cone of chips before. Just look at that concentration.

A Day Early

2008-08-09T20:40:00.003+01:00

I know I'm a day early with my Spring Ride update, but I've had a child free day today so I thought I'd take advantage and get some stitching done. So without further ado, here she is:

And here's the reason my stitching time is virtually non-existent at the moment. Can you believe he'll be two in less than two weeks? No? Neither can I!

Please do excuse the dummy/soother and pj's. These were taken at some ridiculous hour in the morning on Tuesday (6am ish I think). He saw the camera on the side, pointed it out and said 'cheeeeeese'. I just had to take his photo after that lol.

Little poser isn't he!

Riley was extremely interested in the camera so I showed him how to look at the little screen on the back and press the button. This is one of the photo's he took himself. The others are actually really good, but all of me in my night clad dishevelled morning finery so there is no way I'm publishing those!

I also want to thank you all for your lovely encouraging words about my upcoming operation. They are truly appreciated. I probably wont get to post again until I get home from hospital, and I promise not to post the gory details (well not all of them anyway).

Hope you're all having a good weekend. Until next time ...

Op Update

2008-08-01T21:36:00.004+01:00

In the last week the hospital have changed the operation date twice on me! It is now set for 14th August.

I had my pre-op today and was told that if the cough caused by that cold I've just had hitting my chest doesn't clear up by next week I wont be able to go ahead with the op. I need a full week clear of it. It has drastically improved since last week so I'm feeling pretty sure this operation will happen.

During my pre-op the nurse told me that I'm going to be in hospital for at least 3 days, even if the surgery is done keyhole. I will be on a drip and have a catheter for 2 days. That is not what I expected to hear. The Consultant and his Registrars that I've been seeing said that if I had keyhole and was doing fine when I woke up, I could be home the same day. I thought I'd be back on my feet in a couple of days with it being keyhole surgery, but the nurse made it pretty clear that that wont be the case ... quote: "Keyhole surgery or not, you will just have had a hysterectomy and that is pretty major surgery even if it is quite a common operation now. You must NOT pick your child up or do any heavy lifting or housework for at least 3 weeks at the very minimum."

I just hope everything goes smoothly and I'm home in time for Riley's birthday (just 6 days later, on 20th). I would hate to still be in hospital and miss out on that.

Ho hum, better get my ipod charged up.

No SAL Stitching

2008-07-20T22:24:00.002+01:00

I haven't been able to stitch at all tonight. Riley and I have come down with colds and are both feeling grotty. It's now nearly 10.30pm and Riley is still bawling the place down and refusing to sleep even though he's had some medicine, nappy changed, a drink and lots of hugs. I desperately need a shower and my bed although what time I'll manage that I don't know :o(

Mermaid Floss Toss

2008-07-19T13:02:00.004+01:00

I am just about ready to start a mermaid and eventually decided on Mermaids of the Deep Blue. I'm not 100% sure about my choice of fabric though so I've done a floss toss. What do you think?

The fabric looks very bright in this picture. If you click and bring up the large version you can see it better.

A close up of the blues and greens.

Go on, give me your honest opinion ...

Do I Get the Prize?

2008-07-14T16:05:00.004+01:00

... for taking the worst WIP photo's in blogland? LOL. Well I did try. I was hoping to take a photography course this coming Autumn, but due to 'stuff' that has recently happened, that wont be possible now :o( Maybe next year, and until then I'm afraid you'll just have to put up with my terrible pics.

Here's Spring Ride again. I did manage to finish the page and got a bit of the next page done too.

I still don't get to stitch most days, but I do make a special effort on a Sunday to leave myself some time for Spring Ride. Any other time I find myself free to stitch I have been working on Tribal Butterfly. I've not done a huge amount, but I think it's looking very pretty. Here's a photo for you:

In other stitching news, I have ordered the beads and treasures for my mermaid and will be kitting that up sometime next week. I want it ready to start for when I go into hospital, just in case I feel like doing some stitching whilst I have a few days without the young one climbing all over me. I know I probably wont do any, but just in case.

Riley's Scan Results

2008-07-10T19:19:00.003+01:00

On Tuesday we headed back to the Childrens Hospital for Riley's results. You will be relieved to know that they were good.

We saw the Neurosurgeon and a Plastic Surgeon who showed us the scan pictures of Riley's skull and we could see the definite point at the front, but the good news is that it's not causing any pressure or loss of bloodflow to his brain. His brain is now 90% of the size of an adult brain apparently so it is highly unlikely that his condition will cause any brain problems in the future either.

At the moment the triangular shape of his skull isn't really noticeable unless you feel his head. As he grows there is a possibility that his skull shape could become more prominent and noticeable, so there is still the possiblity of corrective surgery in the future. If that needs to happen it will be for cosmetic reasons only. They want to see Riley again in one years time to see how he's going and then I assume they'll want to see him yearly or so after that and if we start to see visible signs of the condition before then they will see him immediately.

The surgeons were both lovely, friendly and very patient with all the questions we had. We came away relieved and happy.

Tangled

2008-07-06T21:54:00.003+01:00

I've had so much fun tonight with knots. Nearly every piece of thread I used got in a right tangle and at one point five stitches in a row knotted on me. That piece of thread got pulled and went in the bin. I can go days without a knot, or just the odd one here and there, but every so often I'll get a session like today. Strange seeing as it's the same thread I always use. Does that happen to you?

On to the good stuff. It's Spring Ride SAL Sunday again and here she is with another few hours work in her. Tonight I managed to finish all the Marlitt on this page and a good portion of the off white (mostly the horses mane running behind her back). I 'think' it could be possible for me to finish this page next week if I get a good night with Riley.

Sorry about the bad photo. I'm seriously thinking about getting a digital SLR and some lessons on how to use it.

New Start

2008-07-05T21:46:00.006+01:00

Earlier in the week I decided it was about time I had a new start. I wanted something not too complicated that I could stitch on in the evenings when the light isn't so good, so after rummaging through my stash for a while I chose this one:

Tribal Butterfly by Sparklies
Stitched on 16ct Aida in Monarch by
Sparklies
Thread - DMC 310

I haven't got the colours in the photo quite right, but it's not far off. It's been a great stitch so far. Nice and relaxing, and I've even done a bit in bed!

The other lady of the house decided it was about time I showed her photo on my blog. My older readers will remember her, but for my newer readers, meet Casey, my 10 year old.

She's still as soft as ever and lets Riley chase her around. I say chase but she walks around the lounge and stays just out of his reach. She know's what she's doing too because if he gets fed up and goes to find something else to do, she'll go up to him and nudge him lol. She's due her annual check-up and booster vaccinations this month which won't please her at all. As soon as she hears that pet carrier coming out of the wardrobe she'll do a runner.

Off to bed now folks. Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.

A Little Update

2008-06-30T16:10:00.002+01:00

This is just a quickie post with some updates for you. First off, Riley's follow-up appointment is on the 8th July. As it's been 4 weeks since the scans I'm pretty certain there wont be anything too bad going on there. I'm sure they would have called us back sooner if there was. I will let you know how it goes.

Secondly, I have my operation date now too. It's on 7th August which also happens to be our second Wedding Anniversary. When I let Alan know, he said "so no meal out then that night." Well, I'll be eating out wont I lol. Actually, it's not really much to lol about. I'm really not sure how I feel about this. I know it needs doing and I want it done, but now I have a date ...

Lastly a little update on my weight loss. Click here to see my post a few weeks ago with all the details of what I was then. I did a quick weigh in at the gym this afternoon and I'm now 95 kilos (just a touch under 15 stone or 210lbs) which is a total loss now of 14 kilos (2stone 2lb or 30lbs). I really need to give this an extra boost now I have my op date.

Finally!

2008-06-28T15:47:00.006+01:00

Yes, finally I have a stitchy pic for you. I have been working on Spring Ride for the last three (I'm sure its been three) Sundays, but the progress has been very slow, mainly due to the fact that I have nowhere to clip my daylight lamp to anymore so trying to stitch white and cream on antique white fabric is very hard going in this dull, dull room in an evening. I think I managed between 20 and 30 stitches each session. I am trying to remedy the problem as I'm really missing my stitching evenings. Anyway, I dug the camera out today and took a photo.

Here's where she was at before I picked her up again:

This is the progress I've made. I've been working on the shiny Marlitt in her dress. Not much I know, but I think poor Carol thought I'd abandoned her in this SAL:

And one more of how she looks at the moment:

I'll be back to her tomorrow evening and hopefully I'll have had some brainwave with regards to lighting!

Spring Ride

2008-06-09T22:53:00.002+01:00

Just a quick post to say I have stitched! Last Sunday and yesterday I worked on Spring Ride, but progress has been sloooooow. I'm totally out of practice and working with the Anchor Marlitt in VERY bad lighting made my progress worse than usual lol. I'll post a pic very soon :o)

The Scans - beware ... long post

2008-06-05T20:43:00.013+01:00

Riley had his scans yesterday. I wont find out the results until his Consultant sends an appointment through, unless they find something urgent, in which case we will obviously be called back pretty quickly. (24 hours later and I have heard nothing so I'm taking that as good news.)

It all went pretty smoothly and was not painful or distressing for Riley or me. There was just a lot of boring waiting around, but Riley was so well behaved I was beginning to wonder if I'd brought the right child with me! LOL

When we arrived at about 11.20am we were checked in and Riley got to go in the playroom for a while until the doctor arrived to prescribe the sedative. That took about an hour and then we had to wait again until the scan unit phoned the ward to say they were ready for him before the medication could be given.

The sedative was given orally and that was the only nasty bit for Riley as apparently it tastes awful. I laid him on the bed and one nurse pinned him down while another shot the medicine down his throat with a syringe. They did it so fast I don't think Riley knew what had hit him. I picked him up and he started gagging, and that was the only time he cried. He was asleep within 5 minutes, I put him in his buggy and a nurse (carrying an oxygen mask and canister - I suppose in case he got into difficulties) took us over to the scan unit in another building.

He had the MRI first. It is quite amazing that the noise of that machine doesn't wake the kids up even though they've been sedated. It bangs and crashes and hums. The staff even provided me with ear defenders. I stayed in the room while the scan was done and sitting at the end of the machine I could see Riley's face in the head harness mirror. It took about 10 minutes. Once it was done I carried him across the hallway into the CT scan room and put him onto the bed. He started to rouse and opened his eyes so I had to pick him back up and let him snuggle into my shoulder and drift off again. The CT was slightly quicker, and that was that. Back to the ward to wait for the sedative to wear off.

He slept for a good while and I just sat and watched him for ages as Riley usually sleeps on his tummy so I don't get to see him sleeping. He just looked so cute and peaceful. After a while I started talking to him and singing nursery rhymes and I could see that although he was still asleep, my voice was registering somewhere in his brain as a little smile kept twitching at the corner of his mouth. When he did come round he was as high as a kite and had only little control over his body. He was throwing himself around on the bed and laughing. It was funny and scary to watch at the same time. I was keeping hold of a leg or an arm so he didn't fall off the bed or cause himself any damage, but he just wanted to roll around and laugh. He though it was great to try and stand up then collapse in a heap on the bed. Once he'd come round a bit more and the giddiness had worn off he had some toast and then I had to confirm that he'd not been sick (come on now, this IS Riley we're talking about! He's never been sick in his life!) and that he'd had a wee, and then we could leave.

We got home about 5.30pm and had some tea. He was still really wobbly on his feet so I daren't leave him alone for a second, but by 6.30pm he was ready for bed so I took him up and he slept like a baby 5.45am this morning. This morning he's completely back to normal. Here are a couple of photo's I took earlier:

He really wasn't sure about this chocolate trifle. He ate about a quarter of it then pushed it away pulling a face. I cleaned him up and then went to get him out of his chair and he started crying and fighting me. So strange! This child always wants out of his high chair immediately he's finished eating. I asked him again if he wanted to come out of the chair and he had another frenzy. Weird. "So what's up then?" I asked him, to which a teary eyed hiccuppy voice answered "og-og". Aww, he didn't like his pudding and wanted a yogurt instead lol. I got him one and he was as happy as Larry after that.

This one is a bit dark, but I just love that smile!

I know this is a long post but I can't resist posting this tiny snippet of video. He's just started in the last few days to put two and sometimes three words together.

Too-Wit Too-Woo

2008-05-26T21:31:00.010+01:00

Today has been a very windy day and the three of us have rosy red noses and cheeks to prove it! We've spent the afternoon in beautiful countryside surroundings at the Chestnut Centre Otter, Owl and Wildlife Centre in the Peak District. What a lovely place.

For those of you not familiar with Derbyshire and the Peak District, it offers some of the most glorious countryside in the UK (well I think so) and it is very, well ... hilly. The walk around the 50 acre Wildlife Centre's Animal and Woodland trail took around 2 1/2 hours and consisted of lots of steep climbing paths and steps. The scenery was beautiful and so 'alive'.

Riley had a great time. He loved the walk, the woodland, the stream and ponds, the animals, and most of all (lol) the steps. They were, of course, very uneven and twisty with it being a hilly nature trail, but he negotiated all these himself with mummy and daddy only steadying him occasionally with his harness, and he WALKED THE WHOLE TRAIL! Go Riley!

Here are some photo's of our day (all clickable):

Two of the many beautiful owls

This squirrel really was as close to me as he looks. He wasn't the slightest bit bothered either.

Alan and Riley checking out the owls. They are such elegant birds. Riley was fascinated with them. Sometimes it took a while for him to see where they were as they blended into the background and were sheltering from the wind. Others, like the two photo's above, were in plain sight and seemed to be checking us out as much as we were checking them out.

This little fella was so cute. Riley loved watching the otters chasing and playing in their ponds. I couldn't get any decent photo's of them though because my camera couldn't cope with the fencing and the distance. (I am seriously thinking of taking a photography course at college next year and getting an SLR camera).

On the first leg of the trail we walked along the top of this field and the deer were nowhere to be seen. When we were on our way back along the path at the bottom of the field, the deer suddenly appeared en-mass and started grazing. (Please do click photo so you can see them.) I think this is the closest I've ever been to deer. What a fantastic end to our day!

MY 10 WEEK ASSESSMENT

2008-05-16T20:53:00.004+01:00

Do you remember me telling you about joining a gym to help me lose weight for this operation? Most weeks I've managed 3, if not 4 sessions there and to my amazement, I've actually enjoyed it. Who would have guessed? I hate exercise lol.

Today was a special day. It's 10 weeks exactly since I joined the gym ... and re-assessment day. I've been weighed again and all my measurements taken along with my blood pressure, BMI and something else which I can't quite remember. I bet you're on the edge of your chairs waiting to hear my results LOL (not!).

So lets get on with the detail. I'm going to be brave here and actually tell you what I weighed on that hospital visit just 3 weeks before I joined the gym ... wait for it ... 109kg (17st 2lbs or 240lbs for my US readers). On my gym induction I'd managed to drop to 106.6kg. Today I weighed in at 99kg so a total loss of 10kg (1stone 8lbs or 22lbs). My blood pressure and BMI have also made quite a nice jump in the right direction, but best of all were my measurements. They measure bust, waist, abdomen, hips, both thighs & the tops of both arms and I've lost a total of 20.25 inches!!! The biggest drop was 6.5 inches off my waist :o) I am feeling really pleased with myself tonight. I know I've still got a long way to go until I'm the right weight, but I think this is a pretty good start.

Hot!

2008-05-12T20:06:00.004+01:00

What is it with the weather here in the UK? Three weeks ago we were scraping ice off the car before leaving for work and this week its scorching!

Yesterday Riley and I spent the day at my parents. We stripped Riley down to just his nappy but he was still boiling so we took off the nappy, put on his sandals and took him into the garden to 'water Grandma's flowers'. Well, I have never heard him squeal and laugh so much in his life. He was in his element! It was one of those moments you just dont ever want to forget. Here's a pic of us with me showing him how to make the water spray out of the hose:

Riley's CT scan has been put back to June 4th as the docs have decided that they want to do an MRI scan as well and better to only have to sedate him once and do both scans at the same time.

Right, I'm off to get digging in my stash and see if I can find my mermaid charts :o)

Short Update

2008-05-02T12:25:00.001+01:00

I have been meaning to update this blog every evening for the last two weeks, but the days just seem to disappear. Thank you to everyone who as taken the time to read and leave me a comment, and an extra special thank you to those of you who have emailed me to check up on our progress.

I really don’t have a lot of news for you. We saw Riley’s doctor again and really didn’t get much more information. We did however get our request for a CT scan taken seriously and Riley has been booked in at the Children's Hospital in the city (about 15 miles away from us) on 15th May. We’ve been told that if there are any abnormalities showing on the CT scan then we will get to see a neurosurgeon within days, if not then we will still get to speak to someone about the scan, but probably a couple of months down the line.

I still haven’t had my appointment through so no news at there. The weight loss is still going well although exercise has slowed a little due to a pulled/strained muscle in my back which is causing a nasty jarring sensation about an inch to the left of my spine down in my hip area. I know I need to keep moving so I don’t seize up so I’ve just cut back to three times a week at the gym for the time being.

Last week I took some time off work and we decorated our living room (a kind of sage/sea green with a darker accent wall – it does look nice … really!) and also had a couple of days out. We also received our Wii Fit. Have any of you had a go of one yet? LOL They are great fun!!!

I may be back into the stitching sooner than I thought as Alan commented last night that the Mirabilia Mermaid chart & fabric I purchased last year would look great on our newly painted walls ….

Health Issues

2008-04-11T21:02:00.003+01:00

My posts seem to be few and far between at the moment. There's a lot going on so blogging has had to take a back seat for the time being.

OK, on to the health issues. Last year you may remember me blogging about taking Riley to the doctors and mentioning about a ridge on his head. The doc referred Riley to a Paediatrician who saw him a few weeks later. Nothing much was said at the appointment and it was all made out to be something and nothing and that they would follow up on it when Riley was 18 months old. Well a couple of weeks ago we took Riley for his follow up. Again the Paediatrician checked his head measurements but most of the appointment was about his development and speech. All seemed well. Last week we received a letter containing details of our appointment. It also specified the problem. Riley has something called Trigonocephaly. There isn't much information about this condition on the internet, but the bits and pieces we have read are pretty damn scary. We are both furious that the Paed didn't tell us in person about this and give us some information and so I've booked Riley in again for Monday and Alan, my mum and I are going in armed with a list of questions we want answering. More than that I can't tell you at the moment, but if anyone knows anything about this condition or has any information, please could you email me.

OK, on to me. Since Riley was born I've been having problems down below and have been seeing the Gynie doc. I went in February and told them I'd had enough. I wanted this problem sorted out and that I wasn't prepared to stay on the drugs until I hit menopause as they don't stop the bleeding anyway and make me feel really rotten. They were a bit iffy with this, I kind of felt like they were making out things weren't as bad as I was saying, but they said they'd start me on a course of injections over the next 3 months stop my periods and to shrink my uterus. In the meantime I was to have a Hysteroscopy and I was told I had to loose 2 stone (12.7kg) before my next appointment in mid May.

It was a relief last Friday to have it confirmed that my problems are really there. I had the Hysteroscopy. Not exactly a pleasant experience, but very necessary. More info about this procedure here (but don't go look if you're squeamish). The result? I have a bloody great alien taking up all the room and more (making my uterus swollen and enlarged). This 'alien' is more commonly known as a fibroid. It was massive, looked absolutely gross (it really did look like an alien) and was bleeding continuously - the cause of my problem. I have two options now:

1. Stay as I am and bleed for 5 out of every 6 weeks and risk the fibroid twisting, which apparently causes major pain and serious bleeding.

2. Have a hysterectomy

I obviously chose the second option and I should be having the op in the next two months. I'll let you know when I have a date. Weight wise, since that appointment on 19th February I have lost just over a stone (7kg) and am well on target. I joined a gym in mid March too and have been going 5 times a week, which is the main reason I'm rarely on line anymore. Trying to fit in work, housework, the gym and of course give my family the time they deserve is certainly taking it's toll on my computer time. I must admit though, I'm thoroughly enjoying the gym and will certainly be carrying on with this as soon as possible after the operation.

Sorry, no stitching again, but I have been doing a little knitting. Not enough to show you just yet as I'm only managing to do a couple of rows here and there, but I found it's easier to grab and do a bit on the knitting than it is with stitching when time is of the essence.

Hope you're all well and I really hope to get chance to visit your blogs and catch up with you all after next week as I have some annual leave :o)

Hello and Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T20:20:00.006Z

Sorry I've not updated in a while. I really didn't realise it had been so long until I got a couple of emails from you wonderful bloggers asking if I am ok. Well yes, we are all hunky dory here and thank you for your concern. It's been a busy month both at work and at home.

Workwise I've been working extra days and also my usual work pattern has been changed so over the next few weeks I'm not going to know where I'm at. I've had to print out my Outlook calendar and bring it home to stick on the notice board to remind Alan and I when I'm working and when I'm not. Next week, right in the middle of the financial year end for us, we have to move to a new building, so as you can imagine it's chaos at the moment with packing boxes everywhere, worry about where this piece of equipment and that cabinet are going to fit in the new place as well as trying to get all the finance work done. Chaos. C-H-A-O-S!!!

Homelife is good. Busy but good ... well most of the time. I think we can safely say that we've hit the 'terrible twos' lol. The young one can tantrum with the best of 'em. He's doing lots of new things too which certainly make up for the bad bits. He's sayings quite a lot more now than he was even two weeks ago, with his current favourite being 'cuppa tea'. He definitely takes after his mummy lol. He's learning his colours and knows yellow, orange, blue, purple and green at the moment and knows lots of animals and what sounds they make. I think his favourite is 'snake'. He loves the hisssssssss sound.

Another thing he's been doing for a while is making a 'whistling' type face. My dad whistles all the time and Riley has been copying and trying to whistle. Tonight on the way home from my mums we had the radio on in the car and I could hear whistling. I looked at Alan thinking it was him but it wasn't. When I looked round Riley was whistling away and actually making the sound. It was one of those 'wow' moments, like he's not meant to be able to do that at 19 months old! You should have seen his big grin too because he knew he was being a clever little bugger lol.

I've got some health news to tell you about too - both myself and Riley, but I'll save that for another post. Meanwhile, here's a couple of photos we had taken professionally last month:

Our Budding Picasso

2008-02-22T20:59:00.003Z

I took these photo's last week and kept forgetting to show you. Last week seems a long time ago now lol. The young one has had ANOTHER bout of Toncillitis and has been on antibiotics since last Friday. He's recovered again now, but for how long? Now he's getting out and about and mixing with other kids he's picking up one thing after another.

The work on the house is nearly done. It's been held up for a couple of weeks because we've been waiting for stuff to be delivered ... and also because we just can't decide what colour to paint the living room. We still haven't decided and we currently have two walls in the old lilac, one wall with white base coat and one in a beige/cream which we originally chose and have now decided against. It's far too light. When we eventually decide and get it done I'll post some photo's and I'll get some of the bathroom too. It looks lovely, but we are just waiting for the plumber to refit the radiator and install the new sink (that arrived on Wednesday after a six week wait!)

I have stitching plans too. Maybe not this coming week as it's going to be another busy one, but the week after I'm planning on digging my stuff out and getting stuck into one project until it's finished. I'm not sure which one yet but Celtic Autumn is high on the list. I want to get moving on Spring Ride again too, if that's ok with you Carol?

My Own Chair

2008-02-08T19:19:00.000Z

Mummy let me write on her blog and show you my new chair. It is brown and made like a real armchair and matches Mummy and Daddy's sofa's too!

Mummy took this photo of me last week just after we unwrapped it.

And here I am tonight in my 'cute photograph pose'.

Mummy has called this photo 'Typical Male'. I have NO IDEA what she means! Umm, Daddy likes to keep this remote control thingy to himself and now I've got it. I wonder if that's what she means ...

I've got to go now cos it's past my bedtime. Night night to all Mummy's friends xox

First PJ's

2008-01-28T21:59:00.000Z

Do you like Riley's new PJ's? Tonight is his very first night in 'proper' pj's. Since he was just a couple of weeks old Riley has been sleeping in those baby sleeping bags (Grobags). The ones we have are meant to last from 6 months to 36 months, but over the last week or so we decided his feet were getting a little too close to the bottom and we'd move on to big boy night-time attire. I think he likes them ... and his Calpol as you can see by the photo of him sucking the syringe. It took a while to convince him it was the 'nice' medicine not the 'horrible' medicine lol. He's been screwing his face up every now and then today which is his way of showing pain, but we're pretty sure it's not his throat still causing him problems as we can see that pesky little molar peeking through his gum.

Thank you for your lovely messages. Riley sends each of you a big sloppy kiss :oD

Chaos

2008-01-27T22:39:00.000Z

Well, my new living room windows are in, the brickwork and plastering done and the walls have splodges of different coloured paint all over them as we try to decide what colour to redecorate the room. We may leave it as it is. We both rather like the 'colourful' effect ;-) I haven't yet cleaned up fully as whilst the work upstairs continues, so does the dust and dirt traipsing everywhere.

The work on the bathroom has been slow and more problematic than we thought it would be mainly due to the inept fitting of the old bathroom suite by the previous owners of our house. Once the wooden boxing had been removed, Alan, the Plumber and I stood back and stared in amazement at the mess that had been hidden behind it. Why do people insist on doing DIY when they haven't got a clue what they're doing. There was pipework everywhere - going in every direction - plastic, metal, some not even actually going anywhere and totally unnecessary. This should give you an idea - the toilet overflow actually went to the bath, so worked it's way right across the room when the soil pipe and outside wall were only inches away. This guy (I'm assuming it was a guy) obviously didn't have a clue ... or a brain to work things out logically!

As it stands, I currently have a working toilet and a bath. There are pipes installed for the new sink and wiring for the shower, but now all plumbing work stops for a few days whilst the Tiler does his bit. Oh joy ... more dust! But just think, in a week or so I'll have a beautiful new bathroom and (hopefully) a clean house!

You may wonder why I titled this post 'Chaos'? You may be thinking that I'm complaining about nothing and what did I expect? Yes, I did expect mess, disruption and things not all going to plan. What I didn't expect was a sick child in the middle of all this. Riley had a slightly high temperature when I checked on him before we went to bed last Saturday and we thought he was coming down with a cold or something. By Sunday evening his temperature was getting higher even with regular doses of infant paracetamol and ibuprofen and it was obvious it was a bit more than a cold and the emergency doctor admitted him into hospital. He had Tonsillitis. I was relieved. Of course I was upset that he was ill and in a lot of pain with it, but the questions they were asking and the fingertip checks on his body every half hour made me sure they were checking for Meningitis. When they said Tonsillitis, it was a big relief.

They wanted to keep Riley in hospital but he was kicking up such a fuss. He screamed (not just crying but yelling and actual screaming) the place down all night and refused to even lay down in the hospital cot. He had total meltdown which went on hour after hour and he didn't sleep at all and so they let us out with antibiotic medicine on the proviso that if he refused to take the medicine or stopped drinking/eating, we were to take him back immediately and they would have to do the drugs intravenously. It has been hard work and giving him his medicine has been a two person job. He fought, slapped, kicked, squirmed and screamed like we were trying to kill him just to get a 5ml syringe of the stuff in his mouth. It brought me near to tears a few times to see how upset we were making him, but I would definitely have had that fight than see him back in hospital with tubes in his tiny veins.

It's amazing how fast they recover from these things. He's nearly back to normal now, a week later. This episode has raised a slight worry in my mind though. This child will not sleep anywhere apart from his own cot. Not in his travel cot, on our bed, in our arms or anywhere else. What would have happened if he had had to stay in hospital? Would they have had to sedate him? I can see it's going to be a while before we can take him on holiday ;-)

Rainy Monday

2008-01-14T14:49:00.000Z

It's Monday again and it's raining. But where are the days going? If it carries on like this, it'll be Christmas again before I've blinked!

Since New Year we've been busy getting quotes from builders, window installers, plumbers, tilers and the like as we're getting some work done on the house. In between that I've been working and looking after the whirlwind that is my son. This next week is going to be crazy as this is when the work on the house actually commences. On Wednesday we are having the patio door ripped out and the wall built up to make a normal window and the two side windows in same room are being replaced. That 'should' finish on Thursday with the internal plastering and fitting of new skirting, then on Friday the new bathroom suit and fittings are being delivered and Saturday the plumber starts the installation, including moving all the electrics and changing the layout. After he's finished (either the following Monday or Tuesday) we have to get the tiler in. We STILL haven't picked out the tiles so the Tiler is coming round tomorrow with some samples of his work to give us some more ideas. Oh, and new radiators fitted too. Ooh, my house is going to be one big mess for the next few weeks.

After this we have a few months reprieve (and more time to save the extra pennies needed) before we get some more work done. I'll tell you more about that later in the year.

I've not done any stitching. I'm not sure whether I've lost my mojo again or just been too tired in the evenings to contemplate it. I'm hoping I can get into it soon as I really want to get some of these projects finished and up on my walls and I have loads more projects I want to get done NOW. There, it must just be tiredness stopping me because I know what I want to do ... or maybe it's because I got a Wii for Christmas ;o) Actually it's not the Wii lol as I've been too tired to play on that even. It is my whirlwind of a son leaving both Alan and I absolutely shattered every evening. He is so much fun at the moment. He's understanding a lot of what we say and we get to play some great games. He loves being chased, building towers with his bricks, climbing anything and everything and is learning to ride the push-a-long digger which Grandma got him for Christmas. He's energetic, cheeky, always laughing, playful, loud, heavy handed, stubborn and very boisterous. Alan and I have more than a few bruises and scratches to prove it lol. He doesn't mean to hurt us, but he gets so excited when we're playing some games that he forgets to be gentle. He's still throwing stuff though which is a problem. Yesterday he launched his sippy cup out of the playpen (in there while we had our lunch in peace for a change lol) straight at Alans mug of coffee. We now have a lovely coffee stain on the carpet. Mind you, it blends in nicely with the chocolate stains, the baby food stains, the pee stains ... we are going to get a carpet cleaner once this building work is over.

Alan has gone to visit his mum and older sons today. I was thinking of going into town to do some shopping, at the least I needed to get to the local shop for some bread, but Alan has shot off in the car and the baby buggy is in the boot so I am going to be stuck in all day. Grrrr.

I suppose I'd better start the ironing. I need to get as much of the laundry and other housework out of the way before the chaos begins. I'll leave you with a couple of photo's of Riley taken yesterday while he was having his lunch.

My Own Sparkly Fob!

2008-01-03T23:21:00.000Z

Just look what arrived on my doorstep this morning! Isn't it beautiful ... and so sparkly! I hope you can see that from the photo's. It's a birthday present from the lovely Nicole over at Island Breeze. It arrived packed beautifully in a cute little hinged tin which Riley ran off with immediately so I didn't manage to include it in the photo, and a lovely card too. It isn't yet attached to my scissors as I need to tease the clasp open slightly with some pliers to fit it over the scissor handle. I will do that later as trying to reach our toolbox in the 'junk room' is a nightmare lol. Thank you so much Nicole. I just love it!

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year. We had a good one here. Still no stitching, but soon, so watch this space.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

2007-12-24T11:50:00.000Z

Wishing all my friends and family a very Merry Christmas!

I hope you all enjoy the holidays, whatever you're up to and I look forward to reading all your Christmas stories over the next couple of weeks :o)

The BIG 4-0

2007-12-18T21:48:00.000Z

Yes, the big day is today. Forty. Four - oh. Please can I just be 39+1 instead lol. I didn't think I'd feel any different, but I do. It's a little 'odd'. It's been a strange day. Normal, but not. I don't know how else to describe it. I've been doing normal stuff like laundry, housework and shopping, but then I get a text, an email or a phonecall and someone wishing me a happy 40th, asking how do I feel, what am I doing? It's been wonderful to realise just how many friends (and of course family) have been thinking of me today and wishing me a happy birthday, but I'm still not sure quite how I feel.

I received my gift off Alan and Riley on Friday. They bought me an iPod Nano. I've never had one before and I love it! I've put music and photo's on it already and even downloaded an audiobook. You might be wondering why I received my gift on Friday. Well, Alan just can't contain himself when he's bought a pressie and just HAD to give it me the day he bought it lol. He's so funny. He's not buying my Christmas present until Christmas Eve so that he's only got overnight to keep the surprise to himself :o) Lets hope Riley takes after me when he's older and can keep a gift a secret until the big day lol.

Mum and Dad have totally spoiled me with a beautiful white gold and diamond pendant necklace and my brother and SIL bought me a matching pair of earrings. They are so pretty! Thank you so much. And thank you mum and dad for having Riley this afternoon while Alan and I went shopping, and for my birthday tea (with home-made apple pie mmmmmmmm).

When the postman arrived he brought me two parcels. One was some stash I ordered last week with the pay rise arrears I received in my wages (we got 2.45% which makes hardly any difference to our monthly pay, but we got it this month back dated to April) The other parcel was a birthday gift from Carol! Just look at this beautiful biscornu she stitched for me.

Front and back views

and another of the front from a different angle.

Carol, it's beautiful! I love the cute little bees, the iredescent beads, your beautifully neat stitching, and it smells delicious! I think these little biscornu's are amazing. I've never seen one in person before and I love the shape. Thank you so much Carol. It's a beautiful gift and I am tickled pink with it!

I was hoping to do a little stitching this evening, but as usual the time has flown and it's nearly bedtime so I'm going to flop on the sofa with my iPod and listen to another chapter of my audiobook. I'm 'reading' Northern Lights (unabridged) (The Golden Compass in the USA I think) by Philip Pullman and thoroughly enjoying it.

Yummy Silks!

2007-12-11T22:53:00.000Z

Look what I got in the post today! Barbara sent me these beautiful silks for my birthday. I really must stop picking them up and fondling them (lol) otherwise they will be dirty before I start stitching with them! They are gorgeous Barabara. Thank you so much! Barbara also sent me a cute Christmas card, which isn't pictured as Riley grabbed it and threw it over the back of the sofa. I have retrieved it now and it's on my mantlepiece :o)

Only one more week til the big 4-0! Arrghhhhhh!!!

What a Week!

2007-12-06T21:14:00.000Z

Wow! What a wonderful mail week I've had this week. It's been like Christmas come early. Firstly with that beautiful ornament from Beatrice, then Riley's cute Red Sox outfit from Carol and today the postman brought me another gorgeous package.

Do you remember a couple of months ago I offered up my half completed Celtic Autumn? Well Bliss was the first to respond and so off CA went across the water to her new home. Bliss sent me an email last week telling me to watch my mail for a parcel as a thank you for Celtic Autumn. It arrived today and look what goodies I found inside! Lavender and Lace's Celtic Spring - the only one of the Celtic ladies I didn't have in my stash, and all the beads for her too! Wow! Thank you so much Bliss! I am still grinning from ear to ear.

Any guesses as to which of the Celtic Ladies I'll be stitching after Autumn? :oD

Red Sox Riley

2007-12-04T21:12:00.000Z

Riley received a parcel in the post today from over the pond. The lovely Carol sent him his very own Red Sox outfit! It looks great on him and Riley loves it too. When I was taking the labels off it he took it from me and walked around the room waving the vest-top like a flag :o) That shows he definitely approves lol. I took some photo's of him wearing it after he'd had his bath tonight.

It's pretty difficult to get decent, unblurred pictures of him these days as he's always on the move and just has to walk over to me as soon as he sees me with the camera. He WANTS that darned camera! lol. I really must get the instruction booklet out because I'm sure there must be a setting to catch movement shots without the blurring. Anyway, these are the best of the bunch (I took about 15). This last one is the best shot of him in the outfit, but just look at his face. He just got a little telling off for playing with the on/off switch on mummy's stitching lamp (yep he's worked out how to do that) when he knows he's not allowed to touch it. But don't they just know how to put on the cutest expressions? How on earth can you tell that face off?

Thank you Carol! We love it!

A Surprise Gift!

2007-12-01T19:44:00.000Z

Look what popped through my letterbox yesterday! A couple of months ago Beatrice and I won a little competition on Suzanne's blog and each received a bundle of Christmas ornament charts. They were really lovely, but one that Beatrice had received I thought was especially pretty and I left a comment saying that. Beatrice took this on board and stitched it - just for me! Wow! I am still grinning from ear to ear :o) It really is beautiful Beatrice and what a lovely thing to do. I waited until today to post about it as I thought I'd be able to get some better photo's of it in daylight, but today was miserable so I ended up taking them under my stitching light anyway. They've not turned out too bad, but if you could see my beautiful little ornament in person you just wouldn't believe how cute it is, and how beautifully it's been finished. Can you tell I love it? Here's a close up of the front:

and the back:

Beatrice, I have emailed you to say thank you personally :o)

Can you believe we're in December already? I can't. Only three more weeks in work before Christmas Day. Where has this year gone? I was up early (6am) this morning with Riley so I decided to hit the shops early. Riley doesn't like shopping very much so I thought if we went early and missed the crowds I could at least get all my cards, if nothing else. Then this afternoon I took Riley to get his hair cut professionally. It had got so long again and I really didn't fancy trying to tackle it myself, especially as we're going to a Christening tomorrow and with all the Christmas visiting. What if I'd made a mess? lol. He does look much better for having a 'proper' hair cut. Not that you can really tell in this photo as he has his head down, but it was the best I could get of him. He was just 'too busy' lol.