Catching my breath!

It's been a busy couple of weeks here since I last posted. My quest for some quiet time still eludes me and with the holidays approaching I don't expect things will slow down anytime soon.
Two weeks ago I was on a business trip to Toronto where I did manage to squeeze in some Christmas shopping at the Eaton Centre. Last weekend we were off to Windsor to celebrate my MIL's 90th birthday followed by a trip this past Saturday to Drummondville to celebrate the 2nd birthday of my youngest granddaughter.

Stitching?...What's that again?! Well I did manage to squeeze some in mostly in the car on the trip to and from Windsor. My Noel tree is very close to being completed now as you can see. I love working on this one. It's one of those stitches where you don't have to refer back to the pattern very often since one side of the tree is just a mirror of the other. It moves along fairly quickly and I really like the design of this particular tree. I was going to keep this one for myself but my Mom mentioned how pretty it was when she saw it on my visit so I might just finish it off for her.

My ornament for this month has fallen way behind and I more than likely will not have it finished by the end of the month. I'd chosen a Patridge by Prairie Schooler but I'm finding it very boring to work on and I keep putting it off. I've already chosen my next start. It's by Barara Ana Designs and is called Stocking Stuffer. Her designs are just so much fun and this little snowman was calling to me!

This design is part of an 18 piece group of patterns by both Barabara Ana and Helga Mandl. Details on how to receive this patterns are found on Helga's site. The patterns are part of a Christmas SAL which takes place each year and is usually limited to those who receive the group newsletter. This year however, the patterns are being made available to anyone and for only $5 it's an incredible deal. No shipping necessary. Once you've made your payment you will receive an email with a link to the pdf patterns for download. Follow Helga's link and check them out. There's something for everyone. You can also subscibe to the newsletter on her site. Barabara Ana also has a newsletter available at her site.
In my stash I found the fabric which I had originally ordered for my Cirque. If you remember I was disappointed on this one because it had a splotch from the dying process in the middle of the fabric. However when it's cut it will be perfect for this piece. The only thing I'm missing is a couple of the DMC variation floss which I'm placing an order for today.

I promised myself not to get started though until I'd finished my Noel tree.

My trip to Windsor although brief was a lot of fun. Saturday was spent with my family and the Sunday with Bob's. We also managed to find time to meet with a friend for lunch on our way down in Port Hope and then lunch with some close friends from Michigan on the Saturday. Saturday night following a lovely meal and chat with my family, we headed to a club downtown Windsor to hear my DH's brother's band play. Bob's brother is a drummer and plays in a number of different groups. This particular group was playing a lot of music from our time in the 70's and it was just like a high school reunion. When we arrived at the club there were quite a few of our former high school friends some of which I hadn't seen in 35 yrs! We had a blast catching up with everyone. When they heard that we were in town for my MIL's birthday, several decided to drop by our open house on the Sunday since they had grown up in the same neighbourhood as Bob and family.



The open house on the Sunday was a huge success with about 75 people all told dropping in with best wishes. This was followed by a family dinner at one of the new restaurants in town. During the meal it started to snow and there was still a light snowfall during our trip home the next day. We also ran into some snow squalls in London where we stopped to share a coffee break with Bob's oldest brother. My son Daniel was able to accompany us on the trip and he also had a super time catching up with his cousins. Below are a few pictures from our visit. On the top right is one of moi with my two sisters and Mom. Top left is my son Daniel and his cousin Andrew. Bottom left is myself and Bob with a group of our school band friends along with our band teacher from grade school and the bottom right is a group photo of Bob, his Mom and two brothers.

Once home again, it was off to Drummondville to celebrate my granddaughter's birthday. The big celebration is actually taking place this coming weekend but I have a choir rehearsal taking place that day plus the weather was more promising for travel this past weekend. Drummondville gets a lot of snow and I didn't want to be driving into one of their storms.

Summer is turning 2 next week so she still isn't really sure what all this fun is all about yet. Her older sister Oceanne was more than willing to help her unwrap all the parcels and teach her how to play with everything! Both girls are getting so big now. I can't believe the curls that Summer has. Her dad says that when her hair is washed and all those curls are stretched out that it's really quite long now. They have a terrible time trying to put a brush her hair. She fights them every step of the way. Her sister Summer is getting to be quite bilingual now. I speak to her in English which she understands perfectly and she answers in French. For the moment I understand everything she says but the time will come when her French will far exceed my abilities. By that time we hope she is speaking more English. My son hopes to send them to English schools. In Quebec you are only allowed to do this if one parent has been raised English which Jeff was.

Daniel joined me for the trip since Bob had to work all day Saturday. It's a long drive.... 7hrs all together going and coming. I really wish that they lived closer but it could be worse. Some of our friends have grandchildren who live halfway across the country and they only see them once a year.

We're planning on having them to our place sometime between Christmas and the New Year. I remember what it was like trying to travel to my Mom's for Christmas with everyone's gifts so I think it's easier to wait until afterwards to get together. Besides you never know what the weather will be like around here and this gives us a little more leeway.

I hope everyone has a good week and gets in a lot more stitching than I have lately! Although I may not have time for comments, I am checking in on your blogs when I can. I enjoy seeing what all of you have been up to lately. To all of my friends in the US, have a very Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all have a safe holiday weekend.