A New Day

A New Day
This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will.

You can waste it or use it for good.

What you do
today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it.

When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that
you have left behind...let it be something good.~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am trying very hard to keep smiling but the situation at home is making it very hard.. then I remembered I had this verse down the side of my blog page, so I have copied and pasted it where I can read it more easily
And the flower? Is a rudbeckia one of my favourites and when you're upset the garden is the place to find peace.

'Home' exchange arrived! and PIF#2

My Exchange Heaven 'Home' arrived at Elisa's So glad she liked it. I loved the design and would love to do one for me.

Its a Country Cottage design, stitched on 28c even weave, antique white colour and Week Dyes floss..
I love pink and ribbons and bows hence the tie!

And nearly forgot but today is the draw for PIF#2
Well seven of you signed up for this so there are four left... so it seems a bit mean to leave one lovely person out... so
Sue
Cath
Angela
Elisa ...

you are all in my PIF#2... Expect something from me in the next 12 months sometime!

Our Nell

Nell has been to the dog beauty parlor this morning and came back exhausted!
She was there three hours, so if that had been me I too would have been worn out too.
Most of her white hair has been cut off boo hoo but she was getting very shaggy looking and really needed a good cut.. she smells like a tarts boudoire (what ever they smell like!! )but they use a very sweet smelling shampoo so its a bit sickly.
However my ever busy DH is making green bean chutney so my mouth is watering!



She has calmed down a lot although she is still very skittish near traffic and sudden noises on the TV causes her to bark and bark! The other annoying thing is she greets everyone we meet out as though they are long lost friends which is a pesk as some could be enemies!!

Who is it????

This morning bleary eyed my DH picked out these names:- Strawberry Jam Ann, Lindylou and Leslie, so please send me your addresses and within the next 12 months you will receive some thing made by moi!! Everyone else's names will be included in PIF #2 which will be drawn next week... so my needle is itching to get going..




Meanwhile here is the sock I knitted, it was easy to do and I knitted it in two evenings. I got the wool and pattern from www.gayesyarns.com Doesn't it knit up prettily so clever that the variegated wool makes stripes!



I shall be knitting the other as I want them as a Christmas pressie for my friend. And then probably do more, its just I have had a lot of cross stitching to do and two exchanges are ready for the post as I spent the best part of yesterday finishing them off. My blogoversay for Kathy needs just one more thing to be finished so I am a busy little bee!
WIPs have been put to one side to get all these smalls finished but next month we have a weeks holiday and so I will have smoking needles!!


PS I would love if someone could mail me with how to put in links as I would have loved to have done one for Gayes Socks.(If you can I would appreciate baby computer talk!! LOL)

Another PIF present and just look at it!

This is the amazing gift I received from Hazel, its so beautifully finished and such lovely colours. How clever you are Hazel and thank you so much.
The ribbon ties it together.



And when you open it, inside is my initial and I my star sign. This is the pin cushion-y bit and then on the other side is the needle keep.. What a clever idea of how to finish it.. I might just use this idea myself.

Just look at the pins and hearts all colour coordinated!I love it and it couldn't have come at a better time as life here has been pretty awful this week.



So thank you Hazel I am doubly blessed with your beautiful gift, God is truly good!

And of course I am passing on the PIF So it will be my PIF #2

This will run to the 29th August.. Cath, Strawberry Jam Ann, Elisa, Lindylou and Leslie have asked to be in the draw for PIF#1 and this will be drawn on the 22nd.. I am going to have so many happy hours stitching over the next few months I can't wait to start.
Love to all and thank you reading my blog!

And the winner is ......

Dah da...


Kathy A in Ontario Canada, congrats Kathy, so can you please email me your address please and I'll post it off to you altho there will be short wait as I am still finishing off.
Sorry to the other 17 of you but you can always sign up for my PIF!

And apologies for my DH's dirty nail, he is a gardener?!
My email is chs22hk@googlemail.com

PIF

I am now passing on the PIF (pay it forward) It works like this... you sign up and on the 22nd August I will get my lovely DH to pick out three names out of a hat (it will be my bowl!) and then if your name is chosen, you will receive something made by me within the next 12 months, then you pass on the PIF ... Nice idea, hey?
I will list the names that sign up for all to see..

What can you say when you receive something as wonderful as this?

I arrived back here in Coventry quite down having left my beautiful house in Essex, where you can sit in the garden and you can't see anyone else's washing, where you're not squashed in a row of houses all the same... where it is bright inside the house and a pleasant aspect out of your front and here was my post!

I was so amazed and delighted, wow my pressie from Robyn in Australia, what could it be?



And wow!All beautifully wrapped with bows and ribbon





I am completely over awed and haven't done it justice with my photos. The stitching is amazing and it has pockets and beads and lace and even pockets inside.
The quilting is fantastic, Robyn you are so clever and I can't say thank you enough. I never expected anything like this, the cross stitch chart will be a pleasure to stitch and those chocs... Roses!! yes definitely garden-ey
Thank you Robyn so much I shall be taking it every where I go to show to people and of course I shall pass on the PIF
How ever I can't match such a gift and mine will be some thing cross stitched

So sign up for my PIF and expect a stitchy some thing from me with in the next 12 months.Although I have to admit I will not be able to match Robyn's beautiful gift.#
Thank you and thank you again Robyn
Chris x

So what else is there to do when it rains and rains and rains??

So its raining (again!!) And what else is there to do except drink wonderful coffee and stitch! We sit in our conservatory and count our blessings which are many. The cafetiere is new as the other one broke and it was an anniversary present to ourselves, which was last week. We spent it at the house in Billericay and it was a wonderful week! The sun shone, we ate out on our anniversary with my two of my sons and their partners and my friend Yvonne and her partner at the restaurant where we had our reception three years ago. It was a very delicious meal both in our 'day' and last week. We all enjoyed it very much! But the whole week was fanatastic, its wonderful to have somewhere we go to for a break and if we didn't need the money we would leave it empty. It was clean-ish except the main bedroom carpet had hair dye stains on it! Grrrrrr but the tenant is paying for it plus clearing the garden, which was very over grown and new vax, new rotary line so thats ok and we have new tenants, who are taking resident next week. We are down there again this weekend till tuesday, just finishing off some bits and having a break away. It's lovely there and we can't wait to move there in 2011 (20 months to go)... Mike walked through the High St for first time he and loved it, and I having lived there for 37 years consider it home!

Had to order some floss to go with three new charts, all a secret for the mo!
And here are the flowers we received from my Emily and Kathryn my step daughters and just some of our cards

And then the week before I met up with Jenny my friend from Australia, we spent a lovely day together and had lunch in a very nice pub out in the Warickshire country side and then had coffee in the garden of her cousin in Kilsby, which a lovely garden and good company, a truly wonderful day, she is flying home this saturday. I 'd love to visit her again, so need that tenant to pay!!

She looks lovely and I am my fat self... seeing photos of me is keeping me on the food plan although last week I might have put on a pound or two, so??? It was my anniversary and Jenny was over from Oz, not every day events! LOL

Hope if it is raining where you are its the right sort of rain erum! but really that the sun is shining in your world, it is in mine altho its wet outside, its swelling my marrows and cougettes and squashes, yum yum!

Pineapple sunshine!!

I just love this sunny pin cushion I received from Lucy in Exchange Heaven. It is perfect to brighten up these rainy days and isn't the post card a hoot! I have it with our post card display on the fridge door so each time I pass it I can smile at the cheeky little pineapple faces.. Thank you Lucy, I haven't a pin cushion and it is the perfect size.