Calling in the cavalry!

Yep, DH wants me to call the guys that painted the outside of our house last week and get them to finish off the inside.

I think I mentioned before that the walls are quite high in the rooms that are left to paint and I can just barely reach the top. DH is going to be away for work quite a bit over the next coming weeks so I guess the last thing he wants to be doing when he is home is climbing up and down a ladder finishing off the painting.

I probably also shouldn't have told him about the little tumble off the ladder I had when I was painting the hallway either?! It wasn't serious - a couple of bruised knees and an elbow. I just stepped back off the ladder when I thought I was on the last step when in actual fact I was on the step above it - oops :)

Anyway, I've requested a quote and should have that in the next day or two.

Oh, and I finished the stitching on my May ornament tonight too. Will post a pic when I've finish-finished it :)

I'm off to make a start on my biscornu for the Monthly Finishing Challenge.

Enjoy your weekend!

Painting, ornaments and noisy neighbours!

I know I said last week I would bore you with my painting progress but with DH out of town again and me feeling a bit off-colour with some sort of tummy bug this week, I didn't quite get there :) I'll bore you today instead.

So far I've managed to paint both bathrooms downstairs (okay, one is really just a toilet and sink), the entrance way and hallway, and the dining room. Okay, so not much but I like to take my time, wash down the walls, tape everything up and cover up any furniture and the floor with plastic drop-sheets. I then go around and carefully do all the cutting-in with a paintbrush and then finally the roller work. My neighbour thinks it's funny - she just slaps it on and probably would have had her whole house done by now! If we were still in our old dogbox house in Australia, that probably would have been the case, but this house is considerably larger with much higher ceilings. We will have to get someone in to paint the stairwell walls (two floors high) though - they'll have the proper scaffolding to reach right up to the top. As it is I can just barely reach the top of the walls from the last (safe) step on the ladder in the lounge, guest room and bedrooms upstairs. I will roller up as far as I can reach and DH will have to do the cutting-in for me. No painting this week though - ran out of paint :) I replenished supplies on Wednesday however so I'll have no excuse next week!



Last week we handed over a rather large amount of dirhams (local currency) to have the outside of our house painted - DH had done some repairs and it was looking a bit shabby with all the patched-up areas. It looks great now though! A large number of painters turned up on Monday morning and by late Wednesday afternoon they were done!

I did get a little stitching in this week. After doing a few chores in the morning I sat down on Tuesday and finished off the stitching on my March ornament. I was stitching my version of A Colonial Christmas Ornament by Cherished Stitches from the JCS 2007 Ornament issue and only had the third panel to complete. That afternoon I finish-finished it ...



A Colonial Christmas Ornament
by Cherished Stitches
from the Just Cross Stitch 2007 Ornament Issue

Stitched on black 28 Quaker cloth with HDF "Tugtika" silk threads

I had a little trouble with the construction so it hasn't turned out quite as nice as I'd hoped. I think I will ignore the instructions and do it the way it makes sense to me if I ever stitch it again.

I've made a good start on my April ornament and all going well I should have it finished before the end of the month.

I'm off to stitch a little before bed - hopefully I can keep my eyes open! Our neighbours had a bit of party last night and were extremely loud! Our villa is in a block of four - I guess it is really a large townhouse - we are on one end, two in the middle and then another end unit. Our bedroom is upstairs at the back of the house and faces their back garden which is where the neighbours and their guests all were. Normally with the double-glazed windows and doors and the aircon running we can't hear anything from inside the house. Last night though their wooping and hollering and banging of doors was loud enough that it kept DH awake, and he usually sleeps with earplugs! Now DH had earlier only just returned from being out of town all week and was extremely tired. The last thing he needed was to be kept awake till the wee hours (I'm talking 2-3am here!) with inconsiderate neighbours. Thank goodness it is our weekend and he was able to sleep in this morning! He got the drill out after he got up though and proceeded to put up some picture hooks on the shared wall, hoping to get his own back - lol! You don't want to mess with DH when he's not had enough sleep!

Unfortunately, it sounds as though they are having another party tonight :( I think there will be a call placed to security if they're still carrying on after midnight! Our good friends live in the other middle unit next to them - I've suggested we coordinate our efforts and starting drilling from both sides 7am tomorrow morning ... mwuahahaha!

No, you're not going mad :)

If you come across some posts that weren't there before it is just that I have finally managed to find some time to go through my drafts folder to add pics, edit where necessary and finally publish them!!

The kids are on Spring Break this week but go back to school on Sunday. DH and I plan to begin painting the inside of the house this weekend starting with the downstairs tomorrow. I need to start washing down walls this afternoon so DH can fill in some cracks and do some other minor repairs. Thankfully, I like painting as I can see I'll be doing the bulk of it during the week when everyone is at school and work :) We are getting quotes for the outside to be done too. Hopefully they'll be quick in getting that back to us as we would like to get it done before it starts getting too hot! I'm sure the guys doing the actual painting would appreciate that too :) I will stock up the drinks fridge as soon as I know when they are coming so there will be plenty of ice cold drinks on hand for them.

I have stitching pics to share as soon as I've uploaded them from the camera so stay tuned :)

Here yesterday, gone today ...

The rain that is :)

This is what our backyard looked like yesterday after 2-3 days of constant rain:



(Please disregard the sorry excuse of a trampoline - the mat disintegrated from the heat and sourcing a new one is proving difficult.)

This is what it looks like today:



Laura commented that she couldn't imagine a city "not built for rain". Strange, I know, but because they get so very little rain here it just never enters into the equation during the construction stage (no gutters, storm drains, etc). However, when it does rain it causes complete and utter chaos! Flooding, electrical problems, traffic mayhem, etc. All schools were ordered to close yesterday and today by the Ministry of Education because of it. Our school has been affected by flooding and I believe electrical problems.

Just a quick post tonight as I'm keen to stitch a little more on Dream before I head to bed. We have a busy day tomorrow so I don't want to stay up too late but I want to finish the section I'm stitching first!

I should have some WIP update pics for you tomorrow. It is the start of the HAEDless Sampler SAL on the HAED BB and I am working on St Georges this month. There will be a finish in the very near future!

Also thank you for your comments and welcome to new readers - there are a few that I want to reply to and I hope to do that soon!

It's raining ...

my tumble dryer is kaput and my new one doesn't arrive until tomorrow! My house, therefore, looks like a Chinese laundry (must find out where that saying comes from)!!

I managed to put a length (six strands) of floss into The Encounter but it's just a pitiful blob of blue :) I then sat down to work on Dream of Purple, delved into my WIP box and came out with my WIP and the chart but not the threads or the actual page of the chart I'm working from! Figured I had put it in one of my overflow boxes which are stacked on top of the wardrobe in the spare room before we went on holidays. My search of the boxes I could reach was fruitless and since DH had gone to bed I was going to have to wait until this morning for him to get the boxes right at the top down for me so I could have a look. I could have gone back to The Encounter but I'd already taken him off the stand and the Q-snaps and put him away.

This morning my much taller DH got the boxes down and I now have my threads and the first page of the chart ready for tonight's stitching session on Dream of Purple.

During the search I came across an old WIP of Dinky Dyes' The Dreaming - that looked a more soothing stitch - so I pulled that out and worked on that instead. I'm not sure when I started it, probably sometime in 2006!

This is how it was when I picked it up last night ...



I might squeeze a little more time on it over the weekend so I'll hold off from taking a progress pic until early next week.

I also put a few more stitches in St Georges this afternoon while waiting for DD at her tap class. Thank you also for the lovely comments - it is coming along quite well and I'm really pleased with how the thread colour stitches up.

Rightio, I'm off to iron the essential uniform and work items for the kids and DH for school/work tomorrow and then settle down to reacquaint myself with Dream of Purple!

Happy Stitching!

Okay ...

who stole the last month and a half of 2007?!!! Boy, those last few weeks went by in a blur!

Since it has been a while I have lots of updating to do which I will get to this week. We only just got back from our winter holiday last night and I'm still unpacking and ploughing my way through two suitcases of laundry!

The kids are back at school tomorrow (they were supposed to go back today but since we didn't get back till late I gave them an extra day off) so after an essential shopping trip for groceries in the morning and some more laundry, I should be able to sit down in the afternoon and get this sorely neglected blog up to date!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas or however you celebrate the season and here's to a great 2008!

Back soon!

I love my camera :)

The kids were out shooting some hoops with their friends before dinner last night when DD came running in yelling for me to come outside and bring my camera! I went outside and was greeted with this gorgeous sunset!

Got a bit carried away with the photos - sorry!

Stitching: I have been doing a little stitching although not huge amounts. I seem to have the reading bug lately and my stitching has suffered because of it. Anyway, it is the Christmas/Mermaids SAL on the HAED BB this weekend so I've pulled both Dream of Purple and Sea of Roses out with the intention of making some progress. I also had Plum Gothic QS out earlier this week and once this weekend is over I intend to get back to her and work on her until she is done. Well, that's this week's plan anyway :)

I'll post before and after pics of each after the SAL has finished. Right now I'm heading back to my chair for an hour's stitching before the kids come home from school!

14 Years Ago ...

DH and I were married. The day is a distant blur in my memory but I do remember it being cold and wet, I think it even hailed at one point! Just the sort of ingredients you need for a garden wedding :) Thankfully, we had a Plan B and the rainy weather went away long enough for photos to be taken.

Sorry about the pic - it is a photo of a photo - so not very clear. Gosh, we look young and DH had a lot more hair than he does now - lol! My dress, veil and head-piece were way more fancier than I'd intended too! So not me! But I guess that's what happens when you ask for your parent's opinion and you're their only daughter! No way was this wedding going to be the simple affair DH and I were hoping for - lol!

I guess that's why we don't usually do much for our anniversaries plus DH has in the past usually been away working for most of them. This year however he wasn't so we went out for a very nice lunch :)

Oh, and in response to a couple of comments from my previous post - I did buy them all - lol! I just want to START them all!! Although I think I've narrowed it down to four now - Green Dragonfly, Purple Dragonfly, Butterfly Dream and Guidance - lol!

PhotoHunt Catch Up Part 2 - "Sweet" & "Fake"

DS's deliciously "sweet" cupcake birthday cake from his recent birthday :)



My "fake" camels :)



My apologies for the small pic!

What a day!

Today I had nothing planned - the dog had had her morning walk, there wasn't any grocery shopping to be done, no school field trips to help out with, or any other errands. Just a date with Girly Gothic QS and my stitching spot. I want to finish this little lady by the end of this coming weekend.

Ha!

Around 9.30am my mobile phone rings. It's the school. I wasn't particularly worried as they sometimes ring to confirm if I can help with a field trip etc. I am not an hysterical person but I must admit to feeling slightly concerned when the caller identified herself as the school nurse. Poor Caitlin had been bitten on her right hand pinky by her class's pet hamster, Speedy Max, while cleaning it's cage. The nurse wanted to know when Caitlin's last tetanus shot was because even though she was wearing gloves the hamster bite broke the skin. When I told her Caitlin's last lot of vaccinations (including tetanus) were done just over three years ago she checked with the doctor who said if it was less than five years then she should be okay. She would clean the wound with Betadine, put some antibiotic cream on it and bandaid it up. Now I debated with myself about going and getting Caitlin and taking her to the doctor just in case but when I spoke to Caitlin she said it hurt a little but she was fine, so I left it at that.

I tried to go back to my stitching but couldn't settle so I pottered around doing bits and pieces and caught up on a couple of emails.

Caitlin had a couple of after school activities this afternoon so I left home for school early to drop her tennis gear off and to make sure she was okay and check out this bite. While there I found out that the hamster had not been vaccinated, and after discussing this with the school nurse I decided that I would take Caitlin to the doctor to have a tetanus shot just in case. I had to pull her out of her after school activities (which she wasn't impressed about!) to get to the clinic before it closed. It is a 24 hour emergency clinic but the paedatric department closed at 4.30pm.

We hadn't been to this clinic before but I had heard it was good and they were much closer to home to the clinic we usually go to. I have to admit they were very thorough - checked Cait's temperature, weight, height, ears, eyes, nose, mouth - the works. They even did a skin test 20 minutes before giving her the vaccine to make sure she wouldn't have a reaction to it - not something I've experienced before. Back home you are in and out in five minutes! They cleaned and redressed the wound and prescribed a course of antibiotics just in case there was any bacteria still lurking around that may cause infection. I have to take her back on Monday for a follow-up.

Anyway, roughly 350Dhs and a couple of hours later she was done and I feel much better. Caitlin will have a tender spot on her rump for a couple of days but she forgives me :) Of course, a promise of making brownies tomorrow kind of helped too - lol!

We did have a bit of fun though - trying to explain what a hamster was!!

I'm hoping tomorrow is a little less eventful!!

Pics at last :)

Firstly... sorry, Leonie, about not telling you what my new starts were ... but you know how evil I can be (mwhahahaha!) - LOL!

Anyway, not only will I now tell you what my new starts were but I will give pics as well!!

First up however is my current progress on Girly Gothic QS ... I cannot see myself finishing her by the end of this month ... not with the munchkins currently on holiday for Eid and of course, my penchant for new starts! I will go back to her tonight though I think :) You can't see it very well in this photo but there is quite a bit of pale pink and sparkles in the lower right corner - I think the flash going off wiped that section out!

**Oooo, and I think I've finally worked out why Blogger photos was being a pain in the ass! If you try and upload anything more than 3MB at a time it has a hissy fit so some resizing is necessary. And look at that ... it works!!**

Girly Gothic QS ((c) Vinson & HAED)

Okay, the first of my new starts ... Selina Fenech's Dragon Soul QS. The link actually takes you to the full size chart. The Quick Stitch (part of the dragon and woman's face) was a freebie for BB members and isn't available for purchase at the moment.

Dragon Soul QS ((c) Selina Fenech & HAED)

My second new start is Molly Harrison's Fairy of the Sea ((c) HAED) for the HAED BB's New Start SAL last weekend. This is what I managed to get done over the four days.

So there you have it :)

In non-stitching related babble, I picked up the latest expansion pack for The Sims 2 the other day - Pets - so I may be MIA for a bit while I create some weird and wonderful pets for my Sims :) Another reason why Girly Gothic QS won't be finished by the end of this month!!

Oh, and Anne L, I will try and get my brain in order and post the "fish lasagne" recipe for you over the next couple of days. I am what you would call a bit of an adhoc cook - I take a basic recipe and add bits and pieces as I go so the dish never turns out qute the same as the last time I cooked it - lol!

Darn it!!

I was just about to settle down to stitch for the evening when the bulb on my new daylight lamp blew *sigh*! I know these things happen but in less than a week? Maybe I overworked it a bit - lol?! The only problem with these lamps not being available in this country (as far as I know) is that I have to order replacement bulbs from the UK and then wait rather impatiently for the parcel to arrive (safely I hope!!). I've gone and ordered two bulbs so that I will always have a replacement if this happens again (which I'm sure it will, hopefully not so quickly though!). I'm kicking myself now that I also didn't order a replacement bulb with my original order! Thought about it but didn't act upon it - didn't think I would need it for a while. Ahhh well - life is never dull :)

Anyway, thank you all for your wonderful comments on GG - she is a great stitch :)

Hello Anne (waving madly) - nice to have you here :)

Amy, me, organised? I have spurts but they don't usually last long - lol! I must admit that I don't do any major housework around here - I have a lovely part-time maid that comes twice a week to clean for me. I resisted for quite some time at getting a maid but in the end I compromised hence part-time. I just tidy, cook, do the laundry and ferry the kids around :)

I didn't end up stitching this afternoon after all. The kids were invited to the movies this afternoon by their friends so I took the opportunity of being child-free to hit the shops :) Firstly I collected Liam's school pants then headed to the Mall to pick up school supplies (oh, and wasn't that fun!!). I also rang DH to see if he was finishing work early like he normally does on a Thursday and if so could he meet me at the furniture store there as well. He was and he could :) I had already been browsing and had my eye on a couple of items so by the time he arrived all I had to do was show him and see what he though. He liked so then it was just a matter of payment and organising delivery, very quick and painless - his kind of shopping :) We then went and had a late lunch, he headed home and I picked up a few last minute things and then headed home myself.

The kids got home not long afterwards - they'd had a great time - saw Monster House which they all said was good. Caitlin's friend wanted her to sleep over so she said hello, grabbed her things and headed out again :)

Well, I'm think I'm going to attempt some stitching!

She has an ear!! Girly Gothic QS Update :)

I stayed up way way way too late last night (yet was still up and out walking the dog by 6.30am this morning!) to try and finish up page 1 last night but didn't quite make it! Managed this morning though while everyone was still snoozing :) I even managed to tuck the stray threads away while taking the pic this time!

Thanks again for the comments re my nephew. I'm hoping my brother will send some more pics through soon and regularly as I won't see him "in the flesh" for quite some time. He weighed in at just under 8lbs I think so he's a reasonable size.

I spent most of yesterday afternoon trying to reorganise DS's cupboards to find places for the extra stuff we had shipped over (hence the need for the mega stitching session last night - lol!). I haven't done too badly but there is still a pile of things on his desk that need sorting out. I'll get to that later today maybe. Right now I'm enjoying the quiet - the kids have gone to the pool with their friends and DH is at work - so I might make myself another cuppa and move on to page 2 of GG for a little bit. Although now that the school has sent the stationery requirements list through I should really go and get that sorted. Mmmm, I might go and ring the school uniform shop and see if Liam's trousers (had to be altered) are ready to be collected. If they are then I will go and get them and do the stationery run at the same time. I'll stitch later :)