Can Somebody Please Tell Me Where November Went?

Last time I looked it was November.

Now I wake up and my birthday and Christmas have passed and we are heading fast into a new year!

Good news – I got a great new job and I start 2nd January.  It’s still in the city though so the train trips are not finished for the time being.  It’s a much better job, more responsibility, more opportunity for growth and just a better atmosphere.  I will miss some of the people at my old job – that is always the way, but I am sure I will settle quickly into my new role.

I am managing to stitch quite a bit on the train so that is a bonus.  I managed to complete Lettres a mon Chat in time for it to be a Christmas gift.  I really enjoyed stitching this and I will stitch it again for myself.  I used 32 count Bay Rum evenweave (Silkweaver I think), NN 153 Razzle Dazzle Red and Black DMC.

In other stitchy news, I started Paradigm Lost.  I am using VC premium Silk in OMG Red on 34 count  Heritage Linen in Cafe au Lait - I am happy with this choice.  I did make a bit of a boo boo though – I started the stitching in the top left corner, but I had my fabric around the wrong way – I counted and measured and re-counted and re-measured though and I will have enough fabric this way around too!  Phew!

Victoria’s Quaker got a little stitching on Christmas Night (it was after all Tuesday)  I was hoping to get this finished this year but now I am pushing for a January 2008 completion – my first perhaps!

I also made a heap of jewelry for Christmas gifts but forgot photos – I will have to get some and post at a later date

   

The Kitties had a great Christmas too!

Cara fell in love with the tyres on the Little Princesses’ new bike! She rubbed herself against the rubber for a good half an hour I think.  I think she just liked the roughness of it!  Was very funny to watch here – she was enraptured with it!

Banjo (remember he is a teenage boy!) decided it was fun to try and unwrap what took me hours to wrap and also thought that the glass of milk left for Santa was just too much temptation!

  

Both kitties were very well behaved around the tree and mostly spent a lot of time napping underneath it.  We didnt’ lose any ornaments at all. 

Puku also had a great Christmas and here is a pic of her enjoying one of her gifts    You can see that as it gets warmer down-under, she loses great chunks of the last of her winter fur.  We’re getting a large bag full of hair from her every couple of days when we brush her!  She doesn’t like it much!

Too everyone in blogland, I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Christmas day filled with love and laughter.  I also wish for everyone a tremendous 2008 that is filled with every joy you desire.

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Busy-ness, Biscornus and Big Dogs

I’ve mentioned before, I am job hunting.

Looking for a job is almost a second job in itself.  Writing applications, addressing selection criteria, interviews, profiling, it takes so much time, for little or no result mostly.  One thing that really peeves me that agencies and employers on the who are very slow to respond to applicants either to say, “You’ve been selected for interview – but it will be a couple of weeks”, or “Thanks but you’re not what we’re looking for”.  Most of the time it’s nothing…weeks of waiting and no response at all.  Most of the time now I don’t bother applying to agencies at all.  It really is a waste of time.  Usually you get a phone call much later on asking if you’re interested in contract or temporary work.  Makes you wonder if the jobs you apply for actually exist in the first place.

I just want a job closer to home.  *sigh* Bah!  I’m disenchanted with the whole process.  MOTH also I think.

I do have interviews next week and one is a promotion with a state government agency (rather than Federal where I am now) and that one is very promising…but still in the city.  Bright side – still 3 hours extra stitching time each day AND a slightly higher salary

I received a lovely gift in the mail last week from my good friend Marie-Luise (who also doesn’t have a blog…..yet).  M-L sent me a finished sampler “Adorn Thy Heart” and when it arrived she had included a gorgeous angel ornament, isn’t’ she beautiful (the angel AND M-L).  I have two of M-L’s samplers now and I must admit I love having things stitched by others almost as much as I love stitching myself   I also have Sandy Orton’s Spanish Sampler (from the very short-lived Treasures in Needlework Magazine) stitched by M-L – it’s also stunning!  Thank you so much Marie-Luise – I just love having beautiful things like these in my home and I can’t wait to get them framed and hang them somewhere special.

   

You may recall previously that I’ve posted piccies of M-L’s lovely big pooches Tibeaux and Gigi.  So for the viewing pleasure of all my readers who put “big dogs” into their search engine and end up here…M-L kindly sent me some new pictures  – these are Dogues de Bordeau, (like the dog from Turner and Hooch)!  I just love them – they’re beautiful!

   

As I also received my Xsers biscornu exchange – isn’t it pretty?  I was also very fortunate that my ‘secret’ exchange partner (I know who you are lovely woman!) added a pair of red and purple Dinky-Dye scissors to replace my lost ones (the Rosemarkie train incident).

 

On the stitching front – I’ve been stitching up a storm!

On Sunday I decided that I would start something new as a gift for The Little Princess’ mother for Christmas.  They have an adorable black cat called creatively, “Blackie” and so I decided Isabelle Vautier’s “Lettres a Mon Chat” would be the go.  I am using the leftover Razzle Dazzle red from the M Designs piece, the leftover linen from Faith, Hope, Love (Bay Rum 32 count linen) and black DMC for the kitties.  I started it on Sunday night after dinner, stitched on it Monday and this morning on the train ride to work, and this is where I am at right now – it’s stitching up quickly and is really fun to stitch – I’m 25% done!  This should be done in time for Christmas although framing will have to come later.  I want to frame it with a picture of Blackie (we’re not sure how long she will be with us – she’s sadly getting very frail and skinny).

I’ve also had 20 responses to my work Christmas Ornament exchange so I have to make 20 ornaments for all the participants.  Luckily they don’t’ have to be stitched although I will stitch the one for my partner.  I am making 20 of these adorable angels!  They don’t take long and they look very cute!  I bought kits from the beading shop but the instructions aren’t really clear so I am going to rewrite them and take some pictures – perhaps I will post it here   We will see   It’s not difficult to make them!

I have decided that rather than re-start Rosemarkie (I’m still grieving), I will join Wendy in stitching Long Dog’s Paradigm Lost.  I am just trying to decide which colour/fabric combination.  I am thinking of using Madeira silk as it’s such a lovely lush silk and I think on 32 count I could use just one strand – I’m not sure.  That will be my big 2008 project.

I think that is about all I have to tell you today…enough don’t you think….?

A Blessings Counted Today: 
I am blessed to have a wonderful family that loves me even if I’d rather be stitching.

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