Chiloe's corner

I'm in love !!!!

2012-01-21T21:12:00.006+01:00

It took me some time but I finally found a website that has the new lanarte kits from their spring catalog ! I have to say if I was disapointed in the past because their kits were not as beautiful as the old ones, I have to say that this time, they did really well !!!

I'm totally in love with this new Marjolein Bastin kit, summer bouquet :

The colors are so beautiful and we can see that Lanarte did a great job at charting Marjolein Bastin great art work. I can't wait to buy this one . Hope it won't be too expensive because I really really love it !!!

I also love two other kits and I'm pretty sure they are from Marjolein Bastin too : Wild flowers:

The colors are so bright. I love happy colors : they make me want to stitch until the end of the night !!!

Look at the colors of poppies:

Just by looking at the picture, I already want to stitch them.

There is another Marjolein Bastin, little bird:

The colors are not as bright but it's a nice picture and maybe in real, the colors do pop up a little more.

They also have a stunning lady, lady of camellias:

Isn't she beautiful? I may buy this kit too one day !!! They have another lady if you like to stitch beautiful woman protrait: Gipsy woman.

Of you prefer some flowers, they also new designs:

You may like to stitch some animals and I think those chicken are very well done !!!

You can see the other kits HERE .

Don't you think they really have a great spring collection this year? I'm glad they went back to work with Marjolein Bastin paintings: she's such a talented artist . I think her summer bouquet will become a future classic. So what do you think: do you like them? Which one is your favorite?

I have to add that I wasn't paid by Lanarte or didn't receive a free kit to do this review ( unfortunately !!! LOL ) As you know, I'm just their anonymous number one fan !!!!

My WIP 2011

2012-01-17T20:41:00.004+01:00

Thanks everybody for your kind words: seems like you didn't forget me after all.

Today I want to show you my latest stitching. I've owned that kit for almost 10 years: I had bought it at Michael's on sale after Christmas. I always loved the colors and you may remember colors are the key to make me finish a project. That's why I always choose carefully

what I'm stitching. I know, you want to see so here we go: Yes it's a Christmas design !!! You may recognize an Ursulla Michael design.

I've started it in december 2011 and here is my yesterday's progress:

As you can see, i've stitched almost all the stockings. I still need to stitch the last on the right. There are lots of green in that one so it's not a surprise if I kept it for the end, right? I also need to do some backstitching on most of the stockings. I'm stitching it on an opalescent white lugana 28 count and it's really nice to stitch.

I have to admit it : I forgot to show one finished last time. Well, it's not completly finished as I didn't add the beads ... yet ! Let's face it: I've never beaded and even though everybody says it's easy, it does stress me out a little bit and I have nobody to show me how to do it so it's anunfinised fairy for now ...

I took a better picture of Friendship grow to show you :

Isn't it beautiful?

Of course, you can enlarge each picture if you want to have a better view.

Thnaks again for stopping by my dear stitching friends !!!

Did I stitch in 2011 ?

2012-01-12T13:39:00.013+01:00

Hi my ( lost ? ) fellow stitchers.

First I want to wish you a happy New Year. I haven't blogged in a long long time and I'm hoping to go back to ( maybe) daily blogging in 2012 ... We'll see if I can do it.

I'm sure you're wondering what I stitched in 2011 so here are some pictures ( I got lots of computer problems lately so I lost some pictu

res and took those from my facebook albums.) :

I started the year by stitching a Lanarte ( what else, right? )

Nesting box with pink roses:

After that I completed the kit I had showed you in a previous ( old ) post:

Friendship grow by Sunset. I know there were a lot of green BUT I really enjoyed stitching that one. It's really beautiful.

Then I decided to get crazy but I didn't know how crazy it would be because it took me 6 months to complete this Lanarte kit.

Summer bouquet stitched on the fabric from the kit.

After I completed my insane project ( that was is secret name !!! ) I finished my on the go project ( mainly because I was tired of big projects and I didn't know what to stitch next.)

Vera the mouse by Lanarte stitched on a solo by Silkweaver.

Of course, I finished it quickly so I chose another small kit to feed my stitching craving:

Hideaway by Sue Hillis ( Heritage stitchcraft) stitched on the fabric from the kit.

I finished it fast and I decided to stitch another Lanarte but I was not ready for a big project yet so I chose this small Lanarte kit.

Lanarte 34231 stitched on the fabric from the kit.

And then I fell in love !!!!!!! I saw the picture on the cover of a magazine and I had to get it AND stitch it fast !!! lol You may remember I have a weakness for the Somebuuny to love characters and that one was perfect. I did change the colors for the hat, gloves and boots to make them more chritsmassy and it totally worked !!! It looks better than the original design !!! I was so afraid I'll mess it up but I'm pretty proud of myself! My first attempt at a color conversion did work !

Making friend by DMC for the World of cross stitching.

I didn't manage to finish my current WIP before Christmas ( mainly because I had lots of down moments during Chritsmas ) so it will become my first finish of 2012. I'm already thinking of my next one and don't be surrprised of I go back to a Lanarte ( what else ? !!! )

I didn't stitch a lot during 2011 but my insane did take most of my time ... So what did you stitch?

Hi there

2011-09-12T09:28:00.013+02:00

I've been a bad bad blogger lately ( ok, it's been months !!! ) I guess I had lost my mojo or lost myself somewhere in the World Wide Web ( aka Facebook ... ) I had up and downs. We also got a sad summer as we learned that one of our friend's ex killed their son one morning. She had her only child when she was 42 yo, he was like a miracle baby and the guy killed his son just to get back at her because he was mad she left him four years ago ...

On stitching news, I did finish friendship grows:

I decided to not stitch the saying and I can say it's one of my favorite piece so far. It's nice when you finally stitch a design that you've always loved.

Then I decided to dig in my Lanarte ( what else ) stash and stitch whatever would attract me ( no matter the size of the design - yes, sometimes I'm crazy like that !!! LOL ) So you wonder

what it is , don't you ? So without further ado:

Now, you understand why I call it my insane project !!! I've started it on march 15 th and I'm still working on it : of course, as it is 20"X30" ( or 50X60 cm). Here is one of the lastest picture but I'm a little more advance than that. ( I haven't uploaded all my pictures yet. )

I can't wait to finish to start something a little smaller but I can honestly say that I am not suffering too much stitching that one. I did suffer much more for my Fuchsias. And you saw all that green ( ), well, don't fall off your chair BUT this time it didn't bother me too much !!!! I know !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAVE A GREAT DAY !!!!!!!!!!

Here I am again !!!

2011-01-12T19:20:00.011+01:00

When I wrote my post yesterday, I knew I had forgotten something but I couldn't figure out what it was. Then Karen ( no blog) asked what will be my next project and I knew! I wanted to show you my latest stash yesterday. You may remember that I am in an unwanted, totally bad stash diet . That means I have to resist to the totally cute designs I see everywhere around me ( when I browse ONS) BUT one day, I was lost on Ebay ( no clue how I arrived there - my finger problably slipped or got out of control ) , I saw one of the kits I've ALWAYS loved . I'm sure you all have one or two kits that you say to yourself: one day, I'll get that one. Well, that day was finally here for me ( even though it was not the right moment - too close to Christmas to be reasonable ... ) The price was fine but I usually spend less on kits ( I like it around 10 whenever possible.) but like I said, I' ve always loved that design . And I brainstormed with myself: you should buy it. Nanh, you can wait. But it's too cute and I'VE ALWAYS LOVED IT !!!!!! But it's more than you want to spend for a kit . Okay, okay, get it ! Yes, I'm just a weak, weak , hopeless creature ... sigh ... I can't resist cuteness , I can't ... Here is my new love :

Oh I can hear you! You thought you just said in your head but it was as clear as if you were in the room with me! Yes, yes, you did say the 5 letter word: GREEN !!!!!! I know! I know! I saw it too but my brain only focus on the pink, the purple, the butterflies. See, it's not me, it's my brain that is on total denial ! And then, I did something that could have made me want to change my plans : I opened up the kit and took a look at the chart. It's a Sunset kit and that company belongs to ................... Dimensions and you know what it means : blended threads, half stitches ( for the artisitc effect ... ) . I should have run away far far away from the Dimensions country BUT ... I' ve always loved that design and you can't fight love!!! And love hurts sometimes so if I have to suffer to stitch it, I will !!! I'll try to be strong, I'll pretend to love green just for the love of this design! Yes, I do agree with you: I might be a little crazy but it's a nice and safe craziness that make me happy !

I also got one of the beautiful Christmas design by Dimensions ( yes, them again). You may remember that every year, I buy one of their gold Petite kit. This year, I bought Santa's feathered friends. ( you know I have a thing for Santa !!! ) Last year, I had stitched Snowman and reindeer. Have you noticed that the " crafted with pride in the USA" has disapeared for a made in China ? Sad isn't it?

I'm still enjoying stitching my Lilly: it's really relaxing to have only 3 or 4 colors to choose from. I feel I'm stitching much faster which is not a bad thing as you know what is waiting for me right after Lilly is finished !!!

Thnaks for stopping by and sharing my craziness with me !

New project

2011-01-11T23:21:00.006+01:00

Thanks for your nice comments on my Lanarte finish: it's nice you haven't forgotten me. ( makes me happy)

So here it is: new year, new project. I chose Lilly by Nora Corbett mainly because I had the perfect fabric to go with it. I don't remember the name of the fabric or the name of the company. I bought it from Lady of stitches on Ebay. The fabric is really beautiful. Lilly is a beautiful design but I'm a little disapointed by the color of her dress: they are quite dull. I should have checked for some color conversions on the internet. I have to recognize it's relaxing to only stitch 3 or 4 colors and I really hope the fabric will make the design stand out.

First finish of 2011

2011-01-07T19:14:00.002+01:00

It should have been a 2010 finish but I only finished it on january 5 th. I started it on october 16 th. I really love it even though at the end, all these greens drove me crazy ( and discouraged ) so imagine when all was left was greens on 1/2 ( that I hate as well!)

I already chose my next project: you may know it already of you follow me on facebook. Otherwise, you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what I'm stitching .

One year in review : 2010

2010-12-31T16:59:00.002+01:00

All I can say is that it's not been a great stitching year. I usually stitch more than this year with an average of 10 pieces stitched. This year I only stitched 5. Not good. Not good at all. I can mainly blame it on my mood that had more ups and downs this year than usually. I still love stitching so I hope I'll go back to more stitching this year ( because I didn't loose my mojo for byuing kits and charts ... bad bad me . )

My first finish of 2010 was a Christmas cat by Margaret Sherry ( Anchor) . I really loved that one . Isn't it cute?

Then I moved to Summer fruits by Lanarte, a Marjolein Bastin design. I wouldn't be me if I didn't stitch at least a Lanarte a year, right? I totally fell in love with that one. It does look like a painting in real. Marjolein Bastin designs are so beautiful. I can't really resist !!!

In march, I also stitched a design that I fell in love with as soon as I saw it: Stitch in time by Margaret Sherry ( Anchor kit). I chose a hand dye fabric by Silkweaver and I don't regret it at all . They both match perfectly in my humble opinion.

My next finish was Pink poppy flower by Lanarte. I'm not very fond of that one and still not sure if it was the right decision to not stitch the green ???

And it won't be a good year if I didn't stitch a Somebunny to love pattern: I stitched room for one more by DMC on a Silkweaver fabric. I always love stitching for Christmas. Usually I stitch holidays patterns on july.

The one was left behind. Yes, there is one that makes me hide in shame, one that I like but one that has too many white/creams ... I got so bored that I had to start a new one. It's a cute pattern though. I just need to get the desire to pick it up again and finish it ( a little bit like with my fuschias). I have spent already 4 months on that one.

As you can see, it's a disapointing stitching year as I stitch usually more. This is what I had stitched in 2009 if you want to compare. I'm mostly happy with my choices. My next one will certainly be a smaller one as I have a bad habits of choosing larger pieces that take forever to complete ( especially when I get bored with some colors - like right now with the greens on my Lanarte.)

I hope you all had a great stitching year. I'm hoping to go back to blogging almost daily. I missses it but got ... lazy? I'm hoing to stitching more ( maybe by choosing smaller projects? ) and I'm especially looking forward peeking at all your beautiful stitching that always inspires me ( and makes me buy more stash !!! )

Thanks for your great support. I wishing you all a great year. .

Pure love

2010-11-25T19:14:00.003+01:00

I'm weak ! Very weak! I once again fell in love with a pattern. I can't blame myself though because the design is too beautiful to resist ! See yourself and tell me you don't like it .

Isn't it beautiful? I love the colors ! Now I have to find a way to get it because the more I look at it the more I want it .

Because stitchers are generous.

2010-11-16T17:16:00.015+01:00

A while ago, I discovered some cute little kits through my friend Laurence who had bought some. I fell in love with the cute little girls designed by Gorjuss . Like I'm a curious one, I searched the internet to learn more about the artist and found their blog . The little girls are painted by a scottish artist named Suzanne. I love her paintings. Going through the blog, I discovered that she is very sick and can't really keep drawing at the moment. With her husband, they own a family business: she draws and he's in charge of printing and selling her artwork. Since she's been sick, they are going through tough times as she can't paint anymore new paintings. You can read more about her story here and read about their latest update here. I was very touched by her story and can really understand the emotional and financial burden we have to carry when a love one is very sick.

Not a long time ago, they decided to turn her paintings into cross stitch. They are distibuted by Bothy Threads. You can also buy their kits with Sew and so or other cross stitch stores who sell bothy Threads kits.So if you have some stitching gifts to buy for Christmas, think about those cute little kits : I'm sure the person who'll get them will be very happy and you'll help a family who is going through hard times.

Here are some of their cross stitch designs, Emma just loves them !!! I'll buy her one later on as she wants to learn how to cross stitch.

I the packaging !

Aren't they cute?

Please, feel free to spread the word about Suzanne's story and Gorjuss kits on your blogs. I have a special thought for her, her children and her husband.

You thought I didn't want to blog anymore?

2010-11-02T18:18:00.023+01:00

No I didn't give up on blogging. Time flies and there are not enough hours in a day to do all I would like to do. One reason of my silence and my lack of blogging mojo is my sister in law Maria. If you are a regular reader, you may remember her: she had lost her strenght in her legs and nobody couldn't really tell what was happening to her ( or so we thought). Actually, her health kept deteriorating slowly and during the summer, she was also loosing the strenght in her arms. Then one day, we got the phone call that we feraed. Maria needed to be hospitalized. So she went to live with her sister in Guadalalajara and she was able to see our children with the webcam. Internet is really great for families like us who have relatives in different countries of the world. Suddendly, Maria's health got worse and sadly on august 30 th, she passed away. That was a very sad time for our family and especially for Chuy as Maria took care of him when their mom passed away. She was a beautiful lady with a strong character. She dedicated her life to her father and she only outlived him for some months. We are missing her a lot, especially on sundays when we used to call her on the phone. I'm glad Emma was able to play the violin for her especially spring by Chopin. We learned after her death that she had a form of MS but that the doctors didn't want to tell the family because they were nothing they could do to save her and that she had only one year to live. That got me very angry because we would have done everything we could for Chuy to see her again. I don't know what those doctors were thinking ...

You also may wonder if I'm still a stitcher or just a stash buyer but I'm happy to let you know that I still stitch and actually, I did finish two pieces. I got bored with my Lanarte and started a smaller one: Pink poppy flower by Lanarte. I thought it was a small one but I almost got bored with all that pink !!! I didn't stitch the green ( I know your're not surprised !!! )

And this is what it could look like with a ( virtual) frame:

Then I got in a Christmas mood and decided to stitch a Somebunny to love design called : room for one more by DMC. I stitched it on an opalescent lugana: Poltergeist by Silkweaver. It was a cute stitch and I really like it.

I didn't feel like going back to my other Lanarte so I started another one and I decided to start Nestingbox with pink flowers. I've always loved that cute Marjolein Design. I'm not going to stitch the little birdies under the main design because I feel it draws all the attention from the center of the piece.

This is my progress:

We celebrated Halloween on sunday. I didn't feel like doing anything but the kids insisted on having a little party so we invited some of their friends, decorated the house and here are the pictures:

I tried to carve a witch but as you can see, I didn't manage to really follow the template I found on the internet.

Emma was a cute witch.

Our neighbor decided to wear a mask to get in the Halloween spirit.

It's the last day of the kids fall vacations and tomorrow is back to school !!!

I hope I won't wait that long again to show you my latest progress but you can always follow me on Facebook like some of you do if you want to. Thanks for being here and still be my stitching friends.

Happy stitching !!!

Summer vacations

2010-08-05T18:05:00.023+02:00

We started our vacations with Steb's surgery. It went well but it stressed me out a lot ... He was able to go home that same night. He recovered quickly and after four days, nobody could tell he was recovering from surgery.

He threw up in the recovering room so they kept his IV until he ate a snack.

We went to visit a small island on wednesday. It's about an hour drive from our house. Here is the view from the boat:

On the island:

Pierre resting on the shade:

How fun it is to play on the beach !!!

There was an exhibit where we could learn how to make knots:

My kids being silly:

Chuy found this cactus and asked me to take a picture ( it was huge !!! ) :

The excitement of the day was to take a boat to go to the island ( even though it was a short trip : only 5 minutes) . Steb really loved it !!!

Back on the main land, we stopped for a snack:

Then it was time to go back home and Steb didn't resist too long to a good nap in the car !!!

You may wonder if I still stitch? I do! Look: this is my Sweet dreams by Lanarte ( but I'm taking a small break : too many 1/2 and whites ... )

I decided to start a small one and I chose this Lanarte: pink poopy flower. It's a small project and it doesn't have too many color changes. I may not stitch the greens as I'd like it can look like a full flower and not like a square.

And here is my yesterday progress:

Thanks for stopping by. I'll try to update more often !!!

Another update ! Already?

2010-06-17T18:58:00.014+02:00

During the week end, we went to pick some cherries at my grand'ma house. Her cherry tree is full of cherries ready to eat. Birds love them so we had to act fast if we wanted to be able to share the feast. Steb was very happy to help ( and eat them).

We got two full baskets but we could only bring one home to share between my parents and I . My grand'ma decided to keep one to give to some people. We would have known , we would have brought another basket.

85 years apart.

My flowers are not growing very good. The weather is not very good: cloudy, windy, rainy once in a while . But I was surprised to discover a little unsollicited guest in one of my window box: a little pansy decided to adopt us . Isn't it sweet?

I've been working on my curtains for a while now and we can see some progress but I'm still avoiding the 1/2. ( click to enlarge)

Pierre and Chuy really love soccer and they have been watching all the matches they could. Today, they are supporting this team:

I feel my husband is a little nervous !!!

Thanks for stopping by !!!

Another progress !!!

2010-06-10T18:34:00.010+02:00

I know I'm spoiling you but if you are still here , you do deserve it !!! Marita couldn't believe I was back at blogging but I am ( I mean, I hope I am ! )

I didn't have time to write a lot yesterday but I'm not enjoying stitching as much as I sometimes ENJOY my stitching. It's a cute design and I love the ahppy colors BUT there is also lots of white/beige colors that I don't really like. You may have noticed I was stitching the righ part and I did stitch all the fun colors until all I had left to stitch was the white blankie the baby holds. So I started it but it was so boring that I quit and decided the moon was soooooooo cute I couldn't just resist stitching some fun colors again. So here I am stitching the middle of the design now. Usually I like to follow an order so my stitching looks neat but not this time. I am trying to be a good girl though because I know it's going to back fire at me when I will only have some white / beige to stitch at the end ... That's why I'm stitching the curtains. Well, I won't only have some of those dul colors to stitch at the end because I also leave the 1 over 2 that I hate for the end ... The Fuchsias syndrom is going to haunt me again !!!! I may allow myself to take a break at one point if I can't finish it. Stitching has to be a pleasure, right?

My mailbox got very happy this week !!! First, she ( yes, she is a she ) received my prize from Suzanne blog: those two cute charts . Thanks Suzanne, they are very cute ( I especially have a little thing for the country chart )

Then she got this bag. And I can hear you very well ( yes I have that talent to hear what people think behind their screen ) It's a green bag !!!!!!!! And you know that green is NOT my favorite but this bag is actually great. I won it on Facebook and it's from Janlynn. The bag is very sturdy and the shoulder straps are great. I'm going to use it at my on the go stitching bag. It even has some inside pockets to put stuffs we don't want to loose . Green or not, it's miiiiiiiiiiiiiiine !!!

Enough sploiling for today ( I don't want you get too used to ) : got to stitch now. Thanks for stopping by !

In case ...

2010-06-09T20:33:00.003+02:00

You've been wondering if I still stitch, the answer is here :

I am avoiding the boring white loke colors to the more attrative and happy colors ... Nothing has changed as you can see !!!

I fell in love

2010-05-12T18:35:00.008+02:00

It's not fair and I'm sure you will agree with me. I didn't have time (yet) to stitch the last year Chirstmas Dimensions kits that I bought that the company is already releasing new kits. And of course, I them. I'm sooooooo weak, it's pathetic ... I didn't buy anything ( yet) because I'm still on my diet ( see yesterday post ... )
Here are some of my favorite:

Look at this tender picture, isn't it adorable? :

And Santa ( I know, I know, I have a thing with Santa ... is it the red outfit? a secret crush? the big bag full of gifts that he always bring with him? ) , isn't it a great Santa picture?

And I love those birds:

And the stocking: too cute !!!

I also like Stony Creek and they just release a Christmas village:

Really, a stitcher's life is not easy. HOW are we supposed to resist temptation? If you have the answer , drop me a line !

And now I'm going to spoil you with another progress picture !!! I know! you 're not going to believe it : I do stitch everyday again !!!

My gardening

2010-05-11T20:22:00.005+02:00

Today I wanted to share some pictures of my plantings of seeds and flowers. We got lots of window boxes: most of them are for the front of the house and some of for the back. I bought too many geraniums because this year, I have decided to mix them up with other flowers like lantanas and other hanging flowers. But of course, I had forgot my new plans when I went to the store so I decided to add window boxes for the back of the house as well. Unfortunately, the weather is still going backward so it's really cold right now. Here are my window boxes ready for summer. (click to enlarge)

On the next picture, you can see all my seedlings. ( click to enlarge). But because of the weather, they are vegetating. It's really bad because they had started to grow so well when the weather got warmer ...

Barbara wanted to know what I planted. As you can see, I used some clear plastic boxes as nuseries. I have quite a lot: phlox, sweet williams, carnations, centaurea, clarkia, wallflower, zinnias, snap dragons, hollyhocks, godetias, african daisies, ficoide, and sunflowers. ( you can click on each flower name to see what they look like if you want to). Hopefully, we'll get a great garden one day ... if the warm weather decide to change its mind ...

Sharon, I also planted some gazanias but with the lack of sun, the flowers don't want to open. I'll take a picture when the sun will want to be a little nicer with us .

I'm stitching more so here my latest progress:

Thanks for stopping by !!!

Stash ahead

2010-05-03T18:49:00.007+02:00

You may remember I am on a stash diet but like for every diet , there are some missteps ... First, I couldn't resist on this cute Lanarte chinese woman. Wouldn't she look great on a nice Silkweaver fabric?

Then, I didn't resist this used chart of Madame la Fée. I said used but actually, the stitcher didn't stitch it so the key charm and a tiny buttom are still there !!!

And yes, I went back to stitching so I have something to show you. Not too much but it's hard to see any progress.

I think Kathy A. is right: during spring time, it's hard to keep our mojo. I planted some seeds at the begining of april and as you can see, they are growing well ( they are in those small boxes.)

I'm hoping to get a beautiful garden this summer. Unfortunately, we are going backward as the sunny warm weather is gone and winter seems to have decided he was not yet ready to leave us ...

Thanks for reading me.

What do you mean where was I ?

2010-04-29T17:53:00.003+02:00

No, I didn't really disapeared but I've been quite busy lately. Sorry about that ... It's been so long that I didn't even wrote my easter report ... Oops!

The kids had a great easter eggs hunt. The easter bunny was pretty generous this year and brought BIG eggs ( and I'm not even kidding. ) Even thgough they were big, Steb almost missed some of them.

That one was a great Spiderman egg.

And when you open it, it's still huge (yes, he seems to appreciate it ):

Then we went to my grand'ma who had bought candies the kids don't like ( like always... And no, it's not because she's old : she's always been that way ... really ! )

And a cute picture of Pierre that day ( ah! the teenager years ... ):

And here is my cute baby, just because he's cute !!!

I'm not stitching much lately ( am I loosing my mojo? Scary isn't it? ) but I have an update to show you.

Thanks for stopping by

Gotcha !

2010-04-02T17:57:00.008+02:00

Only one person noticed that yesterday was april's fool day!!! I couldn't resist having a little joke on my blog. If you were already stitching a bib for my baby you can stop because I am so NOT pregnant !!! It was a little joke to celebrate that day and have some fun !!!

I realised I forgot to show you some pictures of my little baby who turned 5 on march 21 st. I know, he's not a baby anymore but ... I can't help it, he's too sweet !!!

I think we can say he didn't expect this little Mario. He loved it!

He just adores his Spiderman quad.

Fun! fun! fun !

I received Wendy's prize: the chart and the chart pack for this Mirabilia design. Thank you very much Wendy. I've always loved this pattern so I'll stitch it one day. I'm a very lucky person.

We still don't have the weather to feel like it's spring but some flowers in my garden decided to show their colors:

A great news !!!

2010-04-01T19:00:00.004+02:00

I couldn't wait to share a very important news with you : we are expecting a baby !!! It's a little unexpected but we are very happy and the oldest kids as well. And that's what made me choose my next project.

When I checked my stash, I saw many nice projects to stitch. I considered stitching this nice Lanarte ( but I couldn't find it in my stash even though it is in a file in my computer ... weird).

I also thought about stitching Dream keepers by Bucilla but there are lots of one over two so it scared a little bit .... But I love this design.

And when the news of the baby came, I checked my stash again and found this cute design by Marai Van Scharrenburg. Isn't it a beautiful project for a little baby?

I bought that one on Ebay and the seller had added her working copies so I was able to start right away. I'm stitching on the fabric from the kit. Isn't it cuter than on the picture from the kit?

Thanks again for the compliments on finishing my little mice! You are so sweet !!!

Dancing mice

2010-03-23T20:46:00.001+01:00

They are so happy my little mice that they are dancing today. Ready to stitch, a needle and some floss in hand, they are all smiling !!! You guessed right: I finished my little stitching mice. The backstitching was a little nightmare because they are a lot of it but like always with Margaret Sherry's designs, it is all worth it at the end.

Stitched on a solo lugana 28 ct by Silkweaver

Started : febuary 22 nd

Finished: march 18 th 2010

I am so happy to have changed the fabric so I didn't have to stitch all the one over two in the middle of the design. Yes, I'm that smart

So what's next you are asking? Stay tuned, I have already started it

Let's all dance now !!!

Wendy

2010-03-16T14:20:00.001+01:00

I've been trying to contact you but I can't find your blog or your email. Can you please, contact me so I can give you my adress, please? Thanks a lot !!!

School carnival 2010

2010-03-11T19:53:00.006+01:00

Today was the school carnival and it was COLD, very cold ... We are having temperature in the 30 °F with cold winds everyday ... Brrrrrrrrrr. I don't really know why the school chose that date ... Steb wanted to be Spiderman but I couldn't find a cheap costume so he chose to be Zorro. At first, he didn't want ma to draw a moustache because the boy on the costume box didn't have one. I had to show him a picture on the internet. How did we live before the internet?

So here is my little Zorro :

But he was not the onlyone who decided to be a Zorro.

Isn't it the cutest Zorro you have ever seen? I love that picture !!! ( yes I'm bragging but it's my baby that you are looking at. )

Emma was a little chinese girl with chinese eyes:

The kids went outside the school to parade but it was so cold that really few people were in the streets ... It was really useless ...

I stitched a little more last night ( looks weird without the backstitches, doesn't it? ) :

You've got to see that !!!

2010-03-10T20:17:00.004+01:00

I saw this cute video today and want to share it with you. That work is amazing !!! Here is the blog of the great artist who made it . Isn't she amazing?

Maggie and Mildred from Holly Klein on Vimeo.

Mouse makeover

2010-03-09T18:36:00.005+01:00

Once upon a time, there was a little mouse who didn't like herself. She thought she was insignificant, dull, ugly. One day, she saw a shooting star and made a wish.

Fairy Chiloe heard her complaints and decided it was time for a makeover. With the help of the magic wand, she totally changed the life of the little mouse who now thinks life is wonderful. You don't believe me? Just look at her smile !!! See how how happy she is now?

Soon, little mouse is going to have another playdate who will join the fun and help her stitch !!!

Today is a happy day: I won Wendy's giveaway !!! Woohooooooooooooooo !!!

And the winner is !!!!

2010-03-03T21:09:00.002+01:00

A cute innoncent hand:

Destiny in action:

CONGRATULATIONS HAZEL !!! Please, contact me !

Time to update

2010-03-03T20:03:00.001+01:00

Here is my first little mouse ; isn't she cute? As you can see, I'm still a good girl who stitches the backstitches along the design. It keeps me motivated.

Time to show

2010-02-27T19:16:00.004+01:00

Someone was not patient and decided to divorce me yesterday. I want to thank the remaining followers for their patience. I'm glad you're still here and I appreciate all your comments.

So what did I choose? A new Lanarte? A beautiful Dimensions? Nope. I fell in love with one of the latest Margaret Sherry: stitch in time ( a kit by Anchor). You can't blame me, right?
How could I resist such cuteness? But I learned my lesson from my other M sherry design: not only there are lots of backstitches ( but I doesn't bother me too much), there are also lots of half stitches. I had to find a solution to not get crazy. So what did I do? I simply changed the fabric and switched for a hand dye solo by Silweaver. I will get the same effect in the middle and won't bore you with my endless whines about my half cross stitches nightmare !!! Aren't you lucky?

Here is a picture of the fabric ( click to enlarge !!!)
And here is a close-up:
The back stitches are again hard to stitch so I'm using both charts when I stitch to see if I should make stitches or quarter stitches. It does help to make a more realistic design !!!

Thanks for the compliments about my summer fruits finish. I don't feel I'm such a fast stitcher but I'm a regular stitcher so that helps ( and also I don't start a new project until the last one is finished ... well, most of the time ).

Have a great week end.

Wanna dance ????

2010-02-25T12:41:00.002+01:00

It's raining outside so it's time to get some actions in that boring dark day. So get your disco ball out of your stitching closet and get ready to dance for my second finish of the year !!!! ( click to enlarge to see the true beauty of this piece) .

Started on january 11th 2010

Finished on febuary 22 nd 2010

Stitched on the fabric from the kit.

I really really enjoyed stitching it. As always Lanarte charts are so nice and easy to follow. I wish all the designers will make these kind of charts. I should have stitched it earlier because it's truly a beautiful piece . So what's next? You'll have to wait and come back tomorrow (yes, I'm hoping to go back to daily blogging one day ... ). I can only tell you I'm stitching it on a Silkweaver fabric.

A lovely gift

2010-02-23T15:50:00.003+01:00

Sometimes when life is just plain routine, a little sunshine is what you need to brighten the whole day and make you see life in a different angle. You know lately life has been a little on the down road: Chuy still has his up and down moments. Sometimes I feel powerless even though I try to support him the best than I can ... So yesterday when I went to check my mailbox and saw a yellow envelope, I immediatly thought : I didn't order anything or did I ? ( thinking am I getting insane? ) So I opened it and found the loveliest card from Sharon and a beautiful gift !!! I was speechless and very moved by such a lovely gesture from Sharon. I really want to thank you Sharon. It made me so happy. It's very nice of you to have thought of me in such a difficult time. Thank you very much.

Still here !

2010-02-12T18:36:00.009+01:00

First, I want to thank you for all your kind words about the loss of my father in law. Chuy is not doing great, mainly because he still feels guilty to not have been able to attend the funeral. He talked a lot with one of his sister and it helped a little. Anyway, grieving is a slow process so he's going to have ups and downs. I really appreciate your support .

We got an unexpected snow on thursday. This time, the wind was blowing very hard and it seems we got more snow than last time. We got 8 inches. The kids didn't go to school. I don't know why but I always feel guilty when I don't send them to school ; even though last time, I realized that lots of kids didn't go when we had our last snow. Today, it's melting so driving was easier !!!

Yesterday, the kids went to play in the snow. Chuy went with them so I gave him the camera to shoot some pictures of them playing in the snow. Seeing that Steb had snow until his knees, I asked him to take a picture of Steb boots and this is what he came back with:

Yes, that puzzled me too especially when you know that he took only TWO pictures and none of the kids ... ( he didn't even told me he didn't take any ... ) Then it was time to shovel and father and son teamed up to do the job ! We need to invest in a snow shovel for next year as this garden shovel is quite heavy.

I keep stitching my basket. I'm having a lot of fun stitching that piece. It really look like a painting. Colors are really great. The problem is that I'm leaving lots of 1/1 for the end ( yes, like always ... ) . I do try to stitch some everyday but I really hate that. I'm stitching an apple right now, then I'll have another one and some leaves. If you have this basket in your stash, stitch it! I'm sure you'll have as much fun as I have !!!

And don't forget that today is your last day to enter my giveaway : here !!!

Reminder

2010-02-11T21:34:00.002+01:00

You have until tomorrow to enter my blogoversary giveaway: drawing on saturday !!! Click here !

Sad day

2010-02-03T08:42:00.006+01:00

Today, I saw this cute Norman Rockwell google logo celebrating his birthday. You may not know it but I love his drawings/paintings. And by looking at my stitching tastes, I'm sure you are not surprised I love his art. I was going to tell you I have this same design on cross stitch and I even own a chart by Nimue with the same king of design.

But everyhting changed when I came back from my taxi duties this afternoon and checked our answering machine. We had a message from one of Chuy's brother letting us know that my father in law passed away this morning ( their time / central time) You may remember he was an old man with a weak health but still, it's a schock to learn such a news over the phone. I'm very sad for Chuy who couldn't tell him good bye, I'm sad for my children who will never get to meet their grand father ... We don't know if Chuy could go to the burial as they may not wait for him to arrive. For me it's hard to understand but I guess it's not the same over there.

And here is my latest picture:

I was supposed to do the giveaway on friday but I'll do it next week so you have more time to enter.

Monday and febuary !

2010-02-01T18:32:00.004+01:00

Remember you have until thursday to enter my blogoversary giveaway !!! it's ---- > here !

I guess I was not the only one that was not ready for monday as my alarm clock didn't go off this morning. Pierre woke me up at 7.30 : mom is time to get up !!! ( understand, it's time to make our breakfast ... Don't assume he can't make his own but he's a messy breakfast maker ( he wastes the cereals by sharing them with the table, pours too much milk ) . Febuary is here already ... Didn't really see january passing by but let's be positive: days are getting longer: now it gets dark around 6 pm.

My basket is progressing well despite those dark colors. I did stitch the two apples to take a break from the basket. You may notice I didn't stitch anything on the left side of the basket but that's because I didn't make my working copy yet !!! I need to do because it looks a little weird like that ! I'm really having a lot of fun stitching this project.

My computer is acting up so it's very hard to write anything ....

Someone turned 3 !!!!

2010-01-28T19:39:00.005+01:00

No, I don't have a hidden child but something just hit last night before falling asleep: my blogoversary is this month! Actually, it was on january 24 th so I'm a little late. I've been blogging for three years now and even though, I'm not blogging as often as before, I still enjoy showing you my progress. Sooooo, it's time to celebrate and have a little giveaway to thank you for being such faithful friends. I really met wonderful persons through this blog and you are all an inspiration !!! Like I had completly forgot about it, I still need to get some stuffs to make a little package but I already have some stuffs !!!

The rules? Enter to this post only and you have until next thursday to enter. Drawing by one of my sweeties on friday! Come one : don't be shy and join the fun !!!

Time to show !!!

2010-01-27T18:43:00.009+01:00

Where is the daily blogger who owns that blog? If you know her, tell her she needs to go back to her old habits !!! Thanks!

It's really time to show you my latest progress. I am now stitching the non fun part of the design: the dark basket. So you are not going to believe it but last night to take a break from the dark colors, I stitched some greens ! but I survived I added another butterfly, the handle and maybe you didn't see the bird last time?

Emma is sick: she probably catched a bug when she went party with some of her friends for a birthday; laser game + bomwling + retaurant + pijama party = 4 sick girls ! ( yes that many !!! )

Chuy has started his week end today ... I feel we live in the twilight zone : 2 work days, 5 days week end ... thank you the bad economy

Progress

2010-01-18T18:35:00.005+01:00

I'm still late at reading my blogs on my reader ... Hope I can go back to comment more regularly ...

Sale season has started here so I bought some charts on sale: I especially love the elves from Imaginating and the snowman ( Noel) Click to enlarge to see them better. I'll show more stuffs tomorrow. It's probably my last purchases before my stash diet ( not that I want to be on a diet but the bad economy is making me go on this forced diet ... ) Don't feel bad for me, you know I have some stash to keep me warm this winter ( and the next one ) . But I'll probably feel bad to not be able to buy the new cute adorable design that I love ... C'est la vie ...

My Lanarte: it's such a beautiful piece ! I don't regret giving up on the wreath. That's what stitching should be about: pleasure and fun ! Here is my latest progress on the fruits basket.

Snow days !!!

2010-01-13T18:04:00.014+01:00

Steb started the new year with Chicken Pox. At first, I couldn't believe it but yes, it did have the little blisters on his body. He got them mainly on his stomach and back and only three on his face (and some in his hair). He got lucky as a little boy in his classroom got them all over his body ( it was so bad that the mom ended up in the ER with the little boy) Below, you can see Pierre and Emma counting all the blisters on new year day.

You may remember our snow days before Christmas. We thought it was over but nope, snow was still ready for us. It started last wednesday. On thursday, it was so bad that the kids had to stay home ( Chuy as well). We took advantage of this free time to go to our local wood to take some pictures. It was beautiful. We even saw a woman skiing in the wood. Click to enlarge the pictures.

We went there with a neighbor (she's Pierre's age and they all get along very well) They all had a lot of fun ( and didn't miss school at all !!! LOL )

Pierre pretending to be lost in the snow:

That day, we all fell down or slid (yes, even me but I was the one holding the camera !!! )

At home, the kids enjoyed snow fights !!!

But one kid didn't enjoy it all the time ... Oops !

Check Steb's boots ( burried in 6 inches of snow)

One little birdie got very happy I set a free restaurant for them ( click to enlarge if you want a good look at the bird).

Last night, it snowed again but it was starting to melt by 10 am this morning. Snow is very unsual here because we live 10 mn away from the sea. We'll see if it was the last snow of the winter ...

Okay, I admit it: I quit ... The Lanarte wreath is beautiful but the constant change of colors drove me crazy and I felt I was going nowhere. I guess HAED stitchers know that feeling? That's why I don't stitch HAED charts.

So, I decided to start a new project. I dug into my stash to see which kit/pattern will call my name and we got a winner: Summer fruits by Lanarte, from a painting by Marjolein Bastin. (and no, the green didn't scare me at all !!! ) It's funny because I bought that one at Michael's in Fort Worth, TX and I had started to sew all around. I guess I had planned to stitch it right after buying it and forgot all about it ...

And this is what I stitched so far: a butterfly and a pear (I'm working on an apple right now.) I always thought it was a big project but actually it's only 15"X9 1/2. I can handle that, right? And you know what is great? I enjoy stitching again !!! Yeah !!!

And thanks again for the sweet compliments about my Christmas cat finish !!! You are very sweet !!!

First one !!!

2010-01-09T13:37:00.004+01:00

The year has barely started that it's already time to get your disco ball out of your closet ( I bet it didn't have time to get dusty after New year eve !!! ) I finally finished my Margaret Sherry Christmas cat. I can tell you it was not easy to finish all those backstitches that didn't follow the squares ... I know it gives a more natural look but they are such a pain to stitch. That kitty could have been a 2009 finish but I didn't stitch a lot during the holidays.

So you may wonder if I went back to my Lanarte? Well, I tried but that lanarte is not like the other Lanarte I stitched before ... There are TONS of threads change all around the wreath. I stitch to relax not to get on my nerves so I'm not sure to continue that one even though I LOVE that design ...

Thank you very much for your nice comments about my 2009 finishes !! I really appreciate you take time to stop by to leave a comment!

A year in review: 2009

2010-01-08T18:34:00.010+01:00

Happy new year to all my readers and followers! It's that time of the year when we look back to see what we accomplished in a whole year:

In January, a Lanarte birdie to make Christmas last longer.

In febuary, I stitched a Floral Hello Kitty by DMC

In febuary/march, I was itchy to stitch a Christmas design: good girl and boys by JCA.

In april, I stitched my first Madame la fée design: BOo!

In may, Dimensions released a snowman that called my name as soon as I saw it !!!

From june to august, I was busy stitching a cute ssquirrel from Lanarte.

In october, I decided it was time to finish my Fuchsias in watercolor ( after it was left out for 8 months ... )

Then, in november, I felt like stitching a Christmas design again and I choose this banner by Dimensions ( I really love it !!)

And finally, I finished the year by stitching those birdhouses by Lanarte !

But if you follow my blog, you may remember these two beautiful pieces:

Sweet Pea by Nora Corbett

and Pansy by Nora Corbett.

I was a little chicken and didn't finish them because I have never beaded and I'm afraid to make some mistakes ...

I'm pretty happy with all I stitched this year !!! What about you?

Christmas - the day after

2009-12-26T09:34:00.016+01:00

I hope you all had a great Christmas. We did ! We went to celebrat Christmas eve at my mom's with my brother and his family. As you can see, Steb was very happy to be there ( and ready to eat !!! ).

Like last year, my mom bought lots of sea food. I don't like sea food so I had my little special dish (yes, I know, I'm a spoiled brat ! lol). The cousins had a lot of fun together, especially Emma and her cousin who get along very well.

On the 25th, it was time to open the presents brought by Santa. Emma was very happy to get this electronic piano. Now she's going to be able to compose her music. She was doing it on an old electronic piano at my mom's.

She also got Hannah Montana season 2.

Steb couldn't believe he got a mini skate, just like his big brother.

At my mom, he got a pink Panther : he's a big fan !!!

Pierre was very happy: we have the Wii now.

Emma and her cousin Aurane. The poor girl has a double scoliosis, at almost 7 yo, and has to wear a cast for 45 days.

My mom had invited my grand'ma to eat on Christmas day. (you may remember she's not the nicest person in the world and this year, my sister in law did witness how she can be ... ) She tried the boys' mini skate !!!

And we finished the day at my grand'ma where more gifts were awaiting the ~~spoiled brats~~ kids !!! Of course, we had to do the traditionnal picture.

And what do you do the day after Christmas?

You put together 24 pinguins that come in 3 pieces each !!!

Christmas in brief:

Lost gifts: only one! The latest Hannah Montana CD for Emma.

Fingers hurt cutting boxes: only one! Mine ..... Ouch !

Cheesy gifts? NONE ! I know, I can't believe it myself !!!

Of course, I didn't stitch at all during the past two days but I can show you my progress of the 23 rd. I love my cutie !!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas !!!

Snow day 1 and 2

2009-12-20T17:44:00.013+01:00

We got two days of snow. I think the last time we had snow was two years ago so the kids were pretty excited about it. The first day, on firday, we only got a little bit of snow but it quickly froze so it was dangerous to drive on those icy roads full of inexperienced drivers who think they do know how to drive on ice ...

That was the last day of school before the winter break. Emma was the first one to go outside to enjoy the snow !!! And her mom was happy she had the winter jacket from Sears that she didn't really like at first ... It turned out the jacket was great to play outside !!! Emma was even able to use her new Hello Kitty boots that we specially bought for her to visit a garden with her school ( but she got sick and couldn't go to visit the garden which made her cry ... ).

The second day of snow, we got got more snow so it was the right time to make a snowman !!! Dad helped !

But snow can be heavy, right Emma?

More efforts and tadaaa !

Pierre made his own:

A mexican snowman? Something seems weird but what? Maybe the word mexican is a weird match with snowman !!!

But what the kids really enjoyed is: snow fight !!!!!!!

Look at my cutie ready to shoot !

If someone knows how to make the snow whiter with Photshop on Emma's picture, could you help me? I love that picture and would like to enlarge it.

Today, we decided it was the day to have a picture taken with Santa !!! I was very surprised Steb was very happy to see Santa and have his picture taken (you know how he can be camera shy ... ) I really like the picture and I really like Santa real beard: the three of them look great, don't you think so?

Do I still stitch? Yes, BUT there is a little change: I do like my Lanarte but it's not as excting as some other Lanarte sooooooooo right before Christmas, I decided to be a naughty girl and start something completely different: I fell in love with this little kit that I just bought from my friend Blue. Who could resist to this little guy? Isn't it the cutest Christmas cat you've ever seen? I'm sure you don't blame me !!!

And this is the first pic. I am stitching it on an opalescent solo by Silkweaver !!!

And let's finish with some winter humor :

Wanted: smart tittle !!!

2009-12-14T18:18:00.010+01:00

Are you done with your Christmas decorations? We are still working on it. My mom gave us some some holly mixed with some pine branches. I thought it will look great if we mix them to form a branch and put it above a door. And that's what we did; acutally, Chuy put it together which means that if we were working in the fashion business : I'll get the money AND the credit as the designer and he'll get minimum wage as the worker !!!

Steb still had temperature last night so he stayed home to rest and make sure he was really better but the day can be very long without any sibblings to play with so he wandered close to a very tempting place: oh! oh ! Someone is going to get in trouble !!!
But today was also the day to send a letter to a very special person who better get it before december 24 th !!!

Did I stitch last night? Yes I did !!! But not as much as I wanted to and I got an unpleasant visit from the frogs ... I'm working on the upper left side because I want to stitch the bird to feel I'm stitching something. In this design, it's going to take time before we can actually see something that look that a wreath.

Oh Christmas tree !!!!!!!!!!

2009-12-13T18:58:00.009+01:00

We went to get our tree at the market on saturday. But it was sooo cold (in the low thirties ) that we didn't stay very long ... We wanted to get a tree with some roots but there were few choices ( like 3 or 4 to choose). We did manage to find one that we liked and we left quickly. Chuy did not spank any old ladies with the tree like he did last year !!! Good job honey !!!

Steb was so excited to see the tree! He has been asking every day for more than a week now. Chuy planted the tree in a pot with some soil and then it was time to free the tree. Steb helped his dad and

tadaaaaa:

Ready to decorate by three excited kids !!!

Et voilà:

Light off please!

Chuy worked on his nativity like he does every year. I'm hoping to get a better picture tomorrow. He always do a great job (takes lots of room though !!! )

if you don't find a tree, don't hesitate to take one of your kids: some garlands and you are set for Christmas !!!

Let's talk about stitching now. You may wonder what I'm stitching next, right?

Well, first, I finished the left over stitching on my Pansy!!! I am now left with the beading that as the chicken that I am, I have left to the end ...

And now, my new piece:

I chose that one but as soon as I started it, I was not so sure anymore ... I felt exactly the same after I chose the squirrel ... But there is no turning back: I'll stick with that one now ... But it is a bery beautiful wreath so I hope I'll ne happy at the end !!!

Here is my first progress.

Are you done with your Christmas shopping yet? I still need to order a Cd for Chuy on Amazon: is it too late to order for Christmas??? Hope not ...

And the winner is ...........

2009-12-11T20:08:00.006+01:00

In the bowl of destiny, all the potential winners ( Debi's name was entered as number 42 because her computer didn't let her come to my blog) were waiting for an innoncent hand to pick them:

It was Emma's turn to to draw a name: as you can see she took the job very seriously !!!

But another helping hand couldn't help joining the mixing fun!

She picked a winner:

it's ............................

Congratulations Michele !!!! I already emailed you (I'll also drop a line on your blog). You have 24 hours to reply with your address. Without any news from you, I'll do another drawing tomorrow.

Thanks ladies for entering my giveaway: it was a lot of fun and now I have some new blogs to visit !!!

Is it friday yet?

2009-12-10T12:07:00.008+01:00

If you haven't entered my first Christmas giveaway yet, you should hurry up : it will end tomorrow at noon ( central time !!!). Enter here !

I haven't told you yet but you need to get your disco ball out of your closet because we have a happy dance !!!!!!!!!!!! I finished it a while ago actually: on friday night but haven't had time to show it to you because of my little sick people ... But here it is:

It was great to stitch like all the Lanartes ! It took me less than a month to stitch. Of course, it looks even better in real ! Now I have nothing left to stitch because I didn't have time to check what I could stitch next but I have a little idea : I hope I could show you tomorrow!

The reason why I didn't really stitch is there: two sick kids and one, Pierre, who got sicker than the other one. Because Pierre is in remission, he ended up having a blood test (which he didn't like at all even though he got more blood test in his life than most adult in their whole life.) The result was good but he was not better. I ended up being very very worry ... Only today he was able to go back to school but he told me he felt tired after a while. I tried to give him vitamins but he's so picky that it's hard to find the right drink to hide the taste of the vitamins. While he was sick, he took over the sofa and the other ones ( me included ) had to find another spot to watch TV or stitch ...

Look at how Blogger can be ironic: while Meari was fighting the snow in her driveway (and won the battle ) , Blogger thought it would be nice to match the word verifcation to her personal life:

Debi entered her dog to a Hallmark contest: please, help her to get this cute dog up on the votes ! I did already! Here is the cutie !!!

Thanks to everybody who have already entered the giveaway: I'm going to check the blogs of the persons who put the link on their blog ! I'm going to also prepare the names for the drawing so an innoncent hand can pick the winner !!! Please check your email tomorrow at the time the giveaway end so I can get your address and forward it to the company. Hope you get before Christmas !!!

My first Christmas giveaway !

2009-12-08T20:07:00.005+01:00

Yesterday I wrote a long post about my first Christmas giveaway and when I hit the publish button, something went wrong and only half of the post was published ... That was weird. I had to rewrite almost everyhting ... I'm sure a lot of readers have missed the post; that's why I'm writing about my giveaway again to be sure nobody get left behind !!! Anyway, if you want to enter to win this beautiful Santa set ( a figurine and its tree ornament), go this post : my first Christmas giveaway ! Do not enter here please !!!

Good luck everybody!!!

An amazing Christmas giveaway !!! On MY blog !!!

2009-12-07T19:47:00.027+01:00

Edit: I had to rewrite this post because blogger bugged on me ....

You all know I have a special crush on Santa. I don't know if it's the red outfit, the beard, the hat or if it's because Christmas brings so much joy to lots of people. I love Christmas: I love Christmas decorations inside and outside the house. Today, we put some windows clings : the kids may have put too many of them but they had so much fun !!! Now Steb can't wait to decorate the tree that we'll buy on saturday. I can't wait to take my Santas out of their boxes where they are patiently waiting for a whole year to see the light!

I always get new ones. Every year, I buy a new Santa. On that site, Holiday decorations direct, I saw many great Santas that I'd like to add to my collection ( but they have all kinds of christmas decorations - not only Santas for the addicts like me !!! )

Look at this Alaskan Santa! Isn't he beautiful? The details are awesome.

And what about that one: I love that Santa's journey !!!
There are so many more great christmas decoration on that site that it's hard to choose but today is your lucky day: you won't have to choose! Today is your chance to add one great Santa to your personal collection and it's a Santa that I specially chose for you !

Today's giveaway is about this incredible Pipka Santas: Always Believe Santa & Reindeer Figurine set! ( a $ 56 value !!!) and he could be yours very soon to celebrate this holiday season !!!

Details:

Hand-painted
Made of cold cast resin
Figurine stands 6" tall
Comes in set of 1 figurine & 1 ornament
Individually numbered
Gift boxed with certificate of authenticity

I'm sure this Santa is going to become a family heirloom for the lucky winner !!! So you want it?

The rules:

* this giveaway is ONLY open to US and Canadian residents (sorry to my other readers)

* Please, enter on this post only and leave an email so I can reach you after the giveaway ended.

* If you talk about this giveaway on your blog, you get another entry for the giveaway ! ( you double your chance to win !!! ) Let me know if you post about it on your blog.

*You have until this friday at noon ( central time) to enter. I'll draw a name quickly and will email the winner to get her/his personal informations. Please, answer quickly if you want to get your prize before Christmas.

So let's the fun begin and good luck to everybody !!!!

Merry Christmas !

Happy mail day - day two

2009-12-03T20:16:00.007+01:00

I really have a happy mail week ! ( and I really enjoy it !)

Missy had contacted me to let me know she still had some leftover threads and she had decided to offer them to me for my birthday and she even added the Just Cross Stitch ornament issue. Of course, I was very excited to open the envelope and was very happy to see the goodies inside !!! Thank you very much Missy !!! I really love it and am so happy to have the magazine !!!

Another yellow envelope made its way to my house. Sharon sent me this nicely wrapped goody:

My missing thread for my Pansy! (I think that means I have to finish her now, right? ... ) Thank you very much Sharon !!! (you still need to answer my mail for the last details )

I also got this half kit (fabric is missing) from England. The seller wanted to overcharge me (again ... ) but I manage to have her reduce the postage ! I understand some sellers are very unhappy with the price od the sale on ebay but I think it's not fair to be overcharge ! It's a real beautiful design: Emma loves it !!!

Today, we went downtown to have my stitches remove ( it went smoothly , no face sprayed today !!! I think I may have a little scar but I can't really see myself the side of my face. )

We took advantage of being downtown to do a little shopping and look what I found, all because of Petra !!!

Look at this bag:

Which Santa do you prefer? Of course, we like the Texan one !!!

I managed to add two designs to my stitching last night: two feathers. I still have one feather lesft and a flower then finished one part of the blue frame. ( and check the back stitches I did not stitch yet. )

And remember during this holiday season, stay zen !!!

Playmobil brainteaser

2009-12-02T15:56:00.015+01:00

It's been a tradition in our family to have a Playmobil advent calendar every year to countdown the days left until Christmas. This year, Grand'ma was late in buying the calendar so I got it only on monday night. We chose the police theme calendar because Playmobil didn't have a new Christmas calendar this year. I prefer the Christmas calendar but I didn't want the same one as last year.

I thought the assembling would be the same: boxes to attach to the large board. Wrong! They changed their system, probably to save some money because it was NOT easier for us to assembly the whole thing ...

This is how it is when you open the box: Nothing unusual at first.

Then the little nightmare starts: You see, this big cardboard is supposed to actually fit into the box ! And you can see, the box is much smaller than the cardboard ...

It took us (yes, we were two ... ) a while to figure out how it could fit ... Then a sudden light bulb lit up above my empty head and I got it !!! You are supposed to fold the board... It was NOT shown in the instructions booklet ( it would have been too easy I guess ... )

We thought the most difficult part was behind us and for the next step, we had a drawing in the booklet to show us how to do ! It could only go very fast from there ... WRONG !

This is the picture:

This is the cardboard: we knew we had to cut somewhere BUT when scissors are involved, you know you want to be sure of yourself because you won't have a second chance ...

It took us some brainstorming before another lightbulb lit again !!!

And tadaa: it fit ( that's when you are relieved you won't have to play with your tape to fix the mess you made ! )

Finished:

I really don't like their new system because they put tiny pieces in some cases and they could be hard to get. I also think the kids had more fun to grab each individual boxes and open them like little presents.

We also build the scene:

Esteban loves it: there is a jail on the side, in the police station.

Now that we know their new system, I do think you can spend less time than before assembling the whole calendar but I really think they should review and change their booklet. It was NOT clear at all ...

I have a happy mail week this week ( I'll show you more tomorrow):

I had won a giveaway on Petra's blog and it arrived in a fat envelope (that's the only time you enjoy fat !!!) :

Not only, the Christmas book was there and really beautiful ( full of amazing pictures of Christmas cookies ! Of course, I was hungry after checking the book ... ) She also added three notebooks for the kids ( that got stollen by a 9 yo girl ... ) Thank you very much Petra: I the book !

I got my first guest at my free bird restaurant today and I managed to take a picture from my living room. Enlarge if you want to see what kind of bird it is. I also saw two robins today.

Actually, they look a lot like the birds on my Lanarte!!! I finished to stitch the nest and one flower close to it. I think I still have two feathers and a flower left.

Week end

2009-11-28T19:11:00.005+01:00

On wednesday, I went to the dermatologist with Emma. We both had an appointment: Emma had a strange growth on her knee and I wanted to show a mole ( a hairy one ) that I had on the side of my face. It was the first time we met that dermatologist. He's a tall energic man. He asked : " so , who do I see first?" I am so brave that I replied he should see Emma first !!! So he took a look on her knee and said it was a wart ! A wart? On a knee? I didn't even know you could have a wart on a knee. (it comes most likely from the swimming pool) Then he said he was going to freeze it with nitrogen liquid. Poor girl, last time she had one on her foot, our family doctor froze it with the nitrogen liquid as well and that darn thing do hurt a lot and apparently they can't put any kind of anesthesia to avoid the pain ... She did pretty good but it did hurt her ...

Then I told him I was here for my mole so he can take a look at it and he sais: you want to take it out? SO let's do it ! Wow, I wasn't really prepare for it. I thought, he will look at it and then schedule an appointment for like next month ! So I tried to be brave in front of my kid and laid down on the table, ready to suffer ! Of coursen inly anesthesia hurt a little, then I didn't feel anything except that in the middle of it, I started to get a little anxiety attack. Of course, the doc noticed it ... maybe because I started moving my legs a little too much He started to tell me he has a method when people faint: he slap them ! I tried to explain I don't faint, I "only" get panick attacks , that is different !!! But he said he had a little surprise for me anyway ... I was laying down so I couldn't move or escape. He sprayed water on my face, people ! I just needed to drink water AFTER the small procedure, I was NOT going to faint ... Anyway, he sprayed my face twice: I guess even a doctor needs some fun in his life Now, I have three stitches (but not cross stitches though ) This mole was starting to bother me especially since some hair starting to grow I will have my stitches remove next week: I hope I won't have a scar ...

I keep having fun with my Lanarte: I am now working on the nest on the left.

Have a great week end !!!

It's turkey day !!!

2009-11-26T17:24:00.005+01:00

Mr Google ( but is he a he or a she? ) and myself want to wish you a Happy thansgivivng day !!! I love this Thanksgiving logo.

I made more progress and my piece is getting gorgeous ( yes, I compliment myself !!! lol) When we have some sunshine in the morning I can take a decent picture and today was a lucky day ! It's beautiful, isn't it?

Sorry for the short message today but I'm quite busy lately and I'm even very late at answering mails: shame on me ...

Enjoy your bird !!!

Life

2009-11-20T12:01:00.013+01:00

I watched the trailer of sister keeper on Amazon and boy, that seems a tough movie ... I made the mistake to watch it with Emma next to me ... Big mistake : she asked : why are you crying mommy? Oh it's nothing Emma: your brother got leukemia and your baby brother stem's cells from his umbellical cord are stored in a blood bank just in case ... ( disclaimer: Steb is an happy accident which means we didn't plan on getting pregnant during Pierre's illness but it did happen ) I'd love to be able to see that movie because it's a very interesting topic but I will be able to watch it only if there is a happy ending ... Is there a happy ending? But even though it will be fine at the end, would I be strong enough to watch it without sobbing during the whole movie?

You remember my knee problem? Well, the doctor gave me an anti inflammatory medecine for the back of my knee that messed my stomach so I had to stop the medecine that was helping the pain behind my knee and now I had to get a medecine to heal my stomach ... I guess I now have to check which natural remedy I could take to help ... Do you know any?

I also took Emma to the doctor because the poor girl has a knee that cracks like an old chair ! We already went to the doc for the same reason and he had said, it will stop but it didn't and sometimes it hurts. She will have to have an X ray to see what's going on. A 9 years with a cracking knee is very weird ...

Chuy was expecting a package from one of his brother: it took two weeks to arrive ... (it's an important detail )

Oh a cereal box!

Nooo, I'm kidding. Look, there is a plastic bag inside : fresh (after 2 weeks?) chili peppers !!!

But what is under the bag? A tee shirt for a Texas deprived man ...

And some goodies for the kids:

But wait: who's missing? Who didn't get anything? Any idea? I'll say it's always the same person ...

Today, I went to spend the money that we patiently saved money for: the Wii ! We could have gotten it a long time ago but we chose to teach the kids patience. We decided to make them appreciate the gift, to show them that we don't always get what we want: sometimes we have to wait, sometimes we have to save money and sometimes we can't get what we want. If you are curious and want to see what we got for the whole family and what we got Emma, it's here !!! For obvious reasons (like a curious 9 yo) I couldn't add direct pictures to this post !!! She's going to be so excited by that gift !!! Oh! Our playing little device is in an unusual color ...

But maybe all you wanted to see was my stitching? Too late I know, it's always at the end of my post !!! I'm so predictible !!! I finished my three bird houses and now have started the frame: one bird is done.
See the detail:

Enjoy , it's friday !!! Have a great week end !!!

Wondering ...

2009-11-18T18:51:00.004+01:00

Today, after uploading some pictures on my webshots photo album, I was wondering why some people downloaded like 12 pictures of my Pansy and Sweet Pea Work in Progress ... What do they do with them? Do they add them to their photo album and show my work as theirs? Do they try to make their own chart based on my WIP? This is a real mystery ...

I'm also wondering how people can raise little brat and be proud of them. Emma takes a tennis class every wednesdays and there is a little girl who's been a brat since day one. ( for an adult we would have used another word ) Every week, Emma tells me all about this child's behaviour : today hightlight? " No, I don't want to play with those useless players" For next week, I told Emma to tell her : if you are so good, why are you in the beginner class? I can picture very well the joy of her school teacher and the others students .... I'm glad the tennis teacher doesn't listen to her ...

Emma got her new violin today: she grew and needed the next violin size. It's a brand new violin ( we rent it at the music school) and the sound is much better ( thanks god !!!!!!!!!!!!!! ) but I'm wondering when she'll stop being excited and STOP playing right behind my ears to show me that violin sounds is SO much better ....

And now if you are wondering if I made some progress on my stitching ( even though I totally rocked again at bejeweled Blitz ) Here it is:
yes I did progress on my easy to stitch Lanarte !!! The last bird house is almost done and I'm going to continue with the frame which has three birds, a nest and some flowers. I don't think I'm going to stitch the name Marjolein Bastin under the bird houses: after all, she didn't stitch it !!! Just kidding !!!

Have a happy stitching day ( or evening ) !!!

Yes, I stitch !!!

2009-11-16T17:46:00.004+01:00

The tittle is specially for Petra who thinks I don't stitch anymore because I rock at bejeweled Blitz : I got 284 800 today ; the players will appreciate the score !!! Petra:

I managed to get another good picture thanks to the rare rays of light we got this morning. As you can see, I did progress well and I'm still in love with my stitching.

I have a headache so I'm going to keep this entry short ! Keep stitching !!!

Fun !

2009-11-14T19:31:00.003+01:00

Have you started your Christmas shopping? I did actually. I'm usually a more like a late shopper (who has to order her stuffs because her kids always want the most wanted toy of a the year ... ) I didn't go to any store: I just got a mail from my local Amazon that they had some sale and I got some toys for Steb for 50 % off !!! So I placed my order on tuesday and I got it this morning !!! Woohoo ! Love that company !!! Now, we'll need to remember where we hid the stuffs because it could end up like last year when we ( I ) lost Hannah Montana's wig for Emma ( that I had hidden in my fabrics bag ... ) What they really want for Christmas is the Wii and they are going to get it because we've been saving money since last juanuary! We are so lucky as the price went down just before Christmas !!! In my opinion, the Wii is still very expensive as you have to buy all these accessories which are not very cheap of course ...

I managed to take a good picture of my birdhouses: we had a nice sun in the morning, that didn't last unfortunately, but I think it's very close to what it looks like in real ! That project is so nice !!! I'm so happy to have chosen that one! I really think you will never be disapointed with a Lanarte.
I had to change my blog background because it simply disapeared one day ... I don't know why ... That one doesn't really suits me but I'm going to look for a Christmas one soon I also reduced the number of posts per page, I hope it's going to be easier for you to come to the blog. Please, tell me if you have any problem with my blog! Thanks !!!

Have a great week end

One done !

2009-11-12T18:38:00.007+01:00

I finished one bird house last night. This one stiches so fast !!! The picture is not very good because I waited to take the photo and then the light was not good anymore. At least, you have an idea, right?

Are you ready for winter? We are trying to get ready by providing food for the birds. I hope to see some birds soon. Right now, they don't seem interested at all ...

Today we got a letter from one acquaintance (we can't really call him a friend). We met that couple four years ago. They are now divorcing and today, we got a letter from him asking us to sign a letter stating that he's a good father and not an abusing husband who scares his son like his wife accuse him ... We never know what really happen in a couple's life and we don't want to get involved and have to choose one side rather than another one ... Have you ever been involved in someone's divorce ? My mom helped one neighbor with whom she was friend and when they finally got divorced, she stopped talking to my mom ...

It's that time again

2009-11-11T18:55:00.007+01:00

when I don't know if we should "celebrate" that date or not. Six years ago today, our world was turned upside down: Pierre was at the hospital with leukemia. I wrote about it last year: the story of a boy . You can click on the story of a boy if you are not familiar with his story. He finished his treatment in febuary 2006. It still feel like it was yesterday. I still get scared from time to time, especially if he gets weird bruises on his body or if he's more tired than usually. I do try rationality to explain why he's feeling tired or why he has bruises but my brain is not very friend with reationality. My brain best friend is fear and it's hard to control fear ... very hard. That's a date I can't forget and like he got sick during a holiday, it's even easier to remember ... but I don't need a special date to remember don't I ?

Even though he's fine now, he still struggles at school. This year, we also " celebrate" 10 years of speech therapy. Imagine 10 years ! I never imagined he will still go to speech therapy at 13 years old. He just finished some testing with the neuro psychologist in order to see if there are any progress with the therapy. It will take a while to get the results but she said she already saw some progress which is positive.

2004

2009

I am having lots of fun stitching my Lanarte !!! Why am I feeling I am making so much progress with it while I was stitching so slow on the banner?

I want to thank you for your birthday wishes and for having happily danced with me for my latest finish !!! You always make me smile !!! Thank you!

I did it again !

2009-11-09T10:25:00.007+01:00

Yep, I finished my banner on saturday ! It's so nice to have another happy dance. It's not hard to have a happy dance so soon after the last one when you choose a small project AND when you don't correct your mistakes !!! So here it is:

Stitched on a 32 count blue Diamonds by Silkweaver. Too bad, I don't know how to finish it as a banner ...

So you may wonder (because we all know how curious you are !!! ), what's next ? I hesitated between three projects ( all Lanarte's) :

The kiss by Lanarte but that one is huge and I didn't want a big one this time.

The three bird houses: I like the hand dye fabric.

and Nesting box: I want to stitch that one but without the little birdies on the bottom. The only problem was the fabric: it's a linen and I hate linen. I didn't want to dig into my stash to find the right fabric (and yes there were lots of greens ... )

So what made me decide to stitch the three bird houses? My working copies were made a long time ago !!!

Here is the first pic of the first bird house I'm stitching on. As you can see, even though I ironed my fabric prior to stitch on it, we can still see the line in the middle ! If you know how to get rid of those lines, please let me know! Thanks !!! It's a Lanarte so it's a great pleasure to stitch !!! Large chart, barely any back stitches: after a Dimensions, it feels like heaven !!! And it makes me feel I stitch very fast as well.

On that picture, you can see the hand dye in the middle of the fabric.

Sunday was my birthday: I look terrible on the pictures so here is Emma bringing me my cake. I strawberry cake !!!

and the winner is .........

2009-11-04T18:19:00.006+01:00

Once again we used the red bowl to serve as a bowl of destiny. Twenty six stitchers decided the last issue of the magazine de fil en aiguille was worth it and they decided to enter this giveaway. Emma was spending two days at a friend's so I had to find another innoncent hand and I pick: Steb!

So he tossed and tossed more (he could have gone for hours !!! ) He took his job very serioulsy !

Then I told him he needed to pick a paper (because I was ready to shoot a picture and also because I wanted to know where in the world the mag will go !!! ) And the innoncent boy picked ............

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . K A R E N !

She doesn't have a blog but now, she has to start one so we can see the picture once she receives the magazine, right? !!! Karen is from Mexico and I'll remind you that's a half mexican boy who picked her so I wonder if there is not a secret connection between the two ??? ( Ahora dame tu direcion senorita )

I'm not done with my banner and I even added another mistake on the lower green leaf on the left ... oh well .. it's only the 5 th one ...

Halloween report

2009-11-01T12:58:00.017+01:00

I hope you all had a great Halloween; ours went very well thanks to some good friends who came with us to celebrate it. One of Emma's friend stayed with us and she helped preparing the party. I had a total of 9 kids (one couldn't come). Unfortuntely, Halloween is less and less popular here but we decided to do it anyway because Pierre and Emma always celebrated it.

Of course, we decorated the house. Chuy put a bucket next to the bulb in order to have an orange atmosphere to the livivng room. I don't have lots of decorations to display but it was nice anyway.

We found the two garlands the morning of the party and Chuy put a giant spider web in the entrance .

A good friend greeted the guests:

We installed a new ring ( excuse the spider web - the maid had a week off! )

And we decorated the outside as well: I made the girls inflate the balloons . Our neighbors must have thought we are crazy but it was fun !!!

Then it was time to carve the pumpkin and I made ~~my slaves~~ the girls do it. As you can see on Emma's face: she enjoyed every minute of it !!! Her friend on the other end loved it !

Have you ever seen some bunny ears on a pumpkin?

Then I couldn't resist taking some pictures of my cuties outside:

And our guest arrived: we didn't mean to do it but all the costumes were a nice mix of black and orange. They were all very cute.

My friend did get a costume for herself and I took a picture of them on my stairs:

Then my neighbor ( you know the one who has a nice girlfriend ... ) was leaving and the kids rushed to his door to grab some candies:

Esteban did his own make-up: too cute !!!

We finally went trick or treating and the kids were very, I mean VERY excited !

I think I didn't feed those kids enough during snack time because they were so desesperate to have some candies ... We did get some odd stuffs: an old lady gave some coins (not enough for the 9 kids though) and a Hello kitty key chain ...

And a last picture with nine almost exhausted likds (why almost? because minutes later they were dancing in my living room ... )

And don't forget today is your last day to enter the giveaway !!!

Happy Halloween !!!

2009-10-31T21:58:00.003+01:00

Don't forget that tomorrow is your last day to enter my giveaway for the french magazine! Enter here !!!

Here is my latest progress on my banner: I finished to stitch the two birdies at the bottom: I now have all the white and blue left and then I'll have to stitch the message inside the sign. I hope my mistake is not going to be a problem ... We'll see!!!

Tomorrow, I'll show you my Halloween pictures !!! Lots of fun !!!

it's time for ... a giveaway !!!!!!!!!!

2009-10-29T11:28:00.004+01:00

As I promised you a while ago, here is the giveaway for the last issue of the magazine De Fil En Aiguille. You can see some pictures of the charts here. The rules are very simple: it's open to EVERYBODY, you have until sunday (my time) to enter and Emma will draw a name on Monday. Just enter your name on this post ONLY and please, add your email if your email is not linked to your blog or if you don't have a blog. You don't have to put a link on your blog but if you want to do it, feel free.

Good luck everybody !!!

Update !!!

2009-10-28T18:40:00.013+01:00

On saturday, we celebrated Pierre and Chuy's birthdays (two october babies). Pierre turned 13 on october 7 th that makes him an official member of the teenager club. Already 13 yo ... Time flies ...

Steb was so happy when Pierre was opening his gifts. Mickey is not really apropriate for a 13 yo but I didn't have another wrapping paper. He got a MP3 player and now feels he belongs to the world !!! (then he took forever to figure out how to download some music to his player but this is a totally different story ... )

In this portrait, Pierre looks so grown up: I think that's what he could look like in some years from now. The kids are on vacations for a week and a half so we have to find some things to do. I bought two little clay items to paint. Emma got a little lady to paint and was very happy to paint it but almost at the end, the little lady fell off and broke. She was very disapointed and it was hard to stop her tears ...

Steb got a little car and he loved painting it (in blue and only in blue !!! )

So Halloween is around the corner and my kids are pretty excited. Emma decided it was time to have a Haloween snack time so she dressed the table all by herself (note that we don't have any table cloth yet: she used some of her blankets !) Will you believe I was crazy enough to invite some kids over for a Halloween party on saturday? ... I should have 9 kids (mine included ................... )

Mid october, we got our christmas toys catalogs. (this is soooooooo crazy) Pierre and Emma love to circle what they want so Steb had to do the same. He was so funny to watch.

I have three big mistakes in my stitching now but I won't frog it ... I only hope it won't be a problem when i'll have to stitch the Wecome message on the middle. Before my Facebook life, it would have been already finished ... I'm working on the second bird. The design is so cute but it's a Dimensions and those designs are often very pretty but a pain to stitch.

it's friday !!!

2009-10-23T19:02:00.006+02:00

Yesterday I felt like it was already friday maybe because today was the last day before the kids are off from school for a week end a half. That also means I won't be doing my wednesday taxi chores for three weeks because we'll have a holiday on november 11 th (not a happy date for us but I'll take it !!! ) I love vacations !!!!

Yesterday I got a text message (yes, stores don't call you anymore, they text message you ... ) that our table was ready for pick up ! Great news as we were supposed to get it only on november 22 nd. Now I have two boxes in my living room. We checked the instructions sheets: four sheets, no words, funny pictograms (yes, I'll show you so we can share a good laugh !!!), should be lots of fun, right? Did I mention the assembling requires NO drill at all? Wonder if Chuy has noticed it yet ...

I'm still stitching on my banner but unfortunately, I made a mistake when I stitched the white frame. I don't know how I could made such a mistake but I did it and I'm not going to frog ! I think I can work around that mistake. I know the picture is not that great but the light was not the best today. I love the bow: backstitch make such a difference. I feel my progress is slow (I could blame all on jeweled Blitz on facebook ) but I noticed once again that I make slower progress on small pieces. You know how it is: you stitch 5 or 6 crosses and you have to change the color. That design is really pretty !!!
Have a great week end !!! Ours should be quiet (if nobody get kill during our assembling time ... ), we have two birthdays to celebrate though. Emma is at a friend house until sunday morning. Talking about Emma; we got her report card today: she's a straight A student !!! (but you know what I love the most about her? She actually does her homework willingly AND with a smile ! Priceless (if only Pierre could do the same ... )