Busy, busy, busy week!

For a quite some time I was looking for a new car. I wanted something small and economical. The options were endless:

 a smart car (unknown men on the picture)

 Smaudi A3 AWD

Smorvette

 Smamborghini

 Smerrari

 Smorsche

and finally - the Smustang!

Before I decided to buy one I drove a few. None of the above were available in the Yukon so I limited my options to Toyota Corolla, Mazda 2 and Chrysler 200. I liked Corolla a lot and I really liked the 200,  couldn't decided between these two. Corolla has an excellent consumer report ratings as the most reliable vehicle but 200 is an awesome looking car... Well, couple days ago again I took the little Toyota for a ride - this time wasn't just a test drive but actually I drove the way I would drive my own car. And I decided that Corolla it is! Yesterday I took a day off work, grabbed Freddy with me and we went to a dealership, did the paperwork, got sold on a few extras and went to insure the vehicle and get new plates. In the mean time we celebrate our new purchase in Japanese style - lunch at Tokyo Sushi, our local Japanese restaurant. By 5 PM I was driving on Alaska Highway in my new babe. Here she is:

She came with a lovely panda (well, to tell you the truth - I asked for it):

Next week we are going back to the dealership and the car will have a little makeover (added bodyside mouldings, rear bridge spoiler and a rear bumper protector)

By the end of the day Freddy and I were exhausted, just flopped on the couch and watch three shows in the row, the CSI New York, Nikita and Fringe. 

HALLOWEEN MUST BE NEAR!

I noticed lately that a lot of ravens are gathering around...

So, in the mood of the season I worked on the Halloween Rules

 

WHAT I'VE LEARNED THIS WEEK?

The glue on the postal stamps doesn't hold very well to the fabric! I sent  mail art  to my stitching buddy and the poor thing, after being stuck somewhere for almost six weeks, came back to me with a note of not sufficient postage. I am so embarrassed, now I know to use super glue!

LONG WEEKEND 

This weekend is a Thanksgiving in Canada. Tomorrow I'm having a few guests for a turkey dinner. It looks like I'll be busy cooking!

 

Where to start...?

What an amazing weekend I had! A whole bunch of Canadian stitchers got together for a cross stitching retreat. We were planning this event for over 2 years and finally my dream came true! You know, I live middle of nowhere and always was so jealous whenever I read of stitchers stitching together.

It was a blast! We had so much fun exploring Quadra Island, feeding deer making new friendships and we even have done some stitching! Our hostesses DH said: "I can't believe it, you guys came from so far just to stitch?" Oh, no the stitching is just an excuse! We came for fun and here we are, bottom row from left to right: Gis, me and social sue, top row: Bea, June, Linda, Wanda, Marlene, Janice the hostess, Gail and Marilyn.

and here is me and mama deer

I was able to finish my Little Red Riding Hood square that I'm stitching for a charity quilt (needs a little ironing and maybe I should outline mushroom stems).

On Monday we said goodbys but I decided to spend couple more days on the Vancouver Island. My next stop was Port Alberni's gliding club - I've got to fly!!!!

 me in the glider before taking off and below a few pics from the glider during the flight

Tuesday I spent in Victoria visiting Butterfly Gardens and Button and Needlework Boutique.
Now I'm back to Yukon and my ordinary life, dreaming about next retreat. We set a tentative date as of Spring 2014 and that one will be in Maritimes!

So long friends,

And the winner is...

Kelly of I love cross stitch! Congratulations my dear friend!!!

Followers appreciation giveaway

I would love to thank all my followers for reading my blog, crying with me in times of sorrow and laughing in times of happiness. Thank you for leaving comments, thank you for hugs and smiles. You are so kind to me and here is a little from me to you: a giveaway.

As usual there is no rules for this giveaway other than you do have to be a follower. You do not have to mention about this giveaway on your blog (if you do I really appreciate it) and you do not have to leave comments under this post (but if you do I would love it). The winner will be randomly chosen from all my followers on Saturday, a week from today - make sure to check my blog and let me know where to ship the goodies! This is what the winner will get:

a dream catcher to make sure that all your dreams are beautiful (the bad ones will be caught and hold by the dream catcher)

a cute little froggie to put smile on your face

 some Hershey's

 Happy Hunting, chart by Lizzie Kate

and a bookmark stitch by me for you (no picture yet, it will be a surprise)

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!

So long friends,

It has been a while...

It has been a while since my last post not because nothing is happening in my life but because I'm falling apart... First was my thumb (still sore but manageable and I can stitch a little!), now it is my shoulder. For over a month it is bothering me and making my life difficult. And to make things worse last Saturday I flew from the porch to the driveway, like a bomb... I was lying on the ground and I had no idea: should I laugh or cry? In my mind I saw my body falling dawn in the slow motion and that made me laugh but the added pain wanted me to cry... thank goodness no broken limbs, just a few bruises and scratches

And that's not all; I also had a flat tire. Part of Alaska Highway is under construction (and there are no other roads) that will take me to work and somehow a very sharp stone get into my brand new tire:

 Do you see it?

And that is inside the tire, not fixable - I got a brand new tire and for a first time I appreciated the road hazard insurance!

Now I will quit winning and get to an awesome stuff.

I received the most beautiful mail art from my stitching buddy, our lovely Meari. Normally I wouldn't show addresses but she did such amazing job and picked a very lovely alphabet so I do not mind if you see mine

the front

and the back

I wasn't going to open this gorgeous envelope until Meari receives mine, but since I was so hurt and so beat-up, ... I opened it... and, oh my!, so many goodies were inside:

 a lovely chart that I decided to stitch and make a broach or a name tag for my stitching retreat in September

 a whole bunch of teas that still waiting for me to try them

a lovely floss that for sure it will get used

and a package of flower seeds that will be planted in the spring. There also was a postcard (didn't take a picture, darn it!) with a little history facts. Thank you so much Meari, you've made my day! I was in such happy mood that I stitched some... I've started a new project though...

Maybe this weekend I will get back to my Guardian Angel.

So long friends,