June 26, 2008

It's all about pets.


Before I continue on this topic, I'll return to the Stokke chair (see post below). Oh, that one is killing me! Well, I always wanted one and they are close to impossible to find in my country. I mean the type - at one moment Ikea was selling similar ones but Stokke itself does not have a representative. Just as well, because I never realized that the advanced models cost several thousands dollars! Mine is supposed to be very good for the back and indeed, it forces the person to sit in a good position BUT as of now, I feel like I had blue marks all over on the upper part of the leg betwen the ankle and the knee. I've googled a lot and it seems some people can get knee problems from using these chairs while others swear by them and continuously buy the same type. Oh well, we'll see. I'll give it a chance a few weeks more but actually I think I must be too heavy and hence the pain there, because it's not the knees that hurt. I was thinking of bringing it with me back to Warsaw.


It's been raining and very cold (11 to 18 degrees Celsius) most of the days since three weeks and there's little improvement in sight. Aaah. While Poland is begging for rain after over a month of canicule, Norway makes my walks in the nature difficult. Still hoping for the next two months!! We'll be painting the house with H.'s friends next week-end - or rather we were supposed to, because now the weather forecast shows rain again... Sigh. That's sad news because H's friends only have time next w/e... H. has a fear of height and I won't venture either on a very high ladder! :)


But now I wanted to show you the actual reason of several weeks of blogging absence since the end of April. Each spring since two years, Toska the cat "feels the spring", smells the air and starts living a life "up". Indeed, in March, she starts finding ways to jump up close to the ceiling, on top of high furniture. One of her favorite starting points is to jump on the upper border of an open window (notice the protective nets I had installed...):


Once there, she either has a nap - don't ask me *how* she can find it comfortable! LOL - or - she jumps on the closest furniture... I was able to catch the last moment of a jump here:

Now, she either has a nap hidden in a dark place where no dog and no human can disturb her lazy cat a--.... or she continues exploring weird places...

Don't look at the mess on the shelves, I was sorting stuff...

It's a perfect spot to show her own human what ignoring means...


This could all be funny BUT... at one moment she has to jump down and more often than not, she chooses to use the landing runway that leads via my working table and laptop. I've tried to put different objects on the high furniture above it but she always finds a way to go on top of them, between them, or push them away :). My mornings are stressful in the spring... I try to continue sleeping while having an eye on her to prevent her from jumping up - but she always found a way. Stubborn furry thing! And then on that beautiful sunshiny Thursday in April, she jumped from very high *on* the open lid of my laptop (aka my work and life), I heard a terrible "bang!" while it closed... and farewell said the laptop. The hard drive was damaged. Followed long weeks of recovering data from backups, transferring all on the older desktop... while trying to work normally. Clients don't care about wild pets! :) I didn't enjoy spending money on the repair and new drive, oh no. I can't even blame her. She's spent two summers in a house with a big garden, she wanted fun, she wanted spice, she wanted to hunt, she wanted to smell nature. A small apartement is no fun for an animal who got used to wilderness. Ah. She's perfectly happy now in Norway, spends all the time she wants outdoor having a life of her own. Want proof?



Which countries have YOU been to? :)

Morning fun....

In Europe, I visited...
Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/map.php

I got myself a Stokke multi balans chair and I'm trying to get my legs used to it.... after two days they still ache! Oh please someone tell me it'll get better... One thing is sure, that's not a model for cross-stitching! :)


June 19, 2008

A nice finding

Someone was getting rid of this almost-new furniture which we fell in love with. H. always wanted to have one like this for wine glasses and such. For what would be about 19 usd, we brought it home and plan to paint it in a nice light mat colour (beause the wood looks a bit "not new" to our tastes) after we paint the living-room downstairs. Which should happen in a couple of weeks... I'm so happy about this one!

My own birthday goodies...

In the light of tons of regular work for next week (the nice sides of free-lancing, where there's Internet and my laptop is, there money is being made...) and starting paint work in one of the rooms, writing inspiration is just low today, but I decided I just need to kick my b--tt and update, update, update... even with no chronological order... or I'll never be afloat again with this blog...
So here we go for the next short update....
Nath' sent me which I invite you to see HERE because her pictures are so much better than mine... I made shots at 3 am, just before leaving for the airport...

Linda H., a dear friend who really *should* have an updated blog, sent me a chart off my list, with a very lovely birthday card:

Mylene sent me one of her beautiful handmade cards... which she is famous for, and the 200th birthday issue of the Cross Stitcher (UK), in which I found at least two projects I have to do... fast! LOL

My dear Polish friend Ela from France surprised me with a recorded voice message which she sent by email! We haven't met in real life... yet! ... so it's been a very sweet surprise! Since then I keep thinking that it is such a neat idea to get to know a "virtual" friend better, over the many
borders and seas that can separate two stitchers :)

A few days later, I received the most gorgeous package which I'll have to show you another day because days are dark now that summer is over... rrrrr! and the shots I made are just awful!

Hakon's mother came with a card for me and a pot of flowers, included the nice pot.... Here in Norway, there is a big tradition of sending or joining cards for different occasions... a lovely custom.


My father sent me some money, for which I bought this hanging Petunia x hybrida . H. bought the hanger later. The white color looks weird at the moment but we're going to repaint the house in a couple of weeks in a very light color, just off white (egg shell, they call it here) and it will be perfect then.


And for Nath's birthday....

It was my friend's Nath birthday last week and here is what I sent to her... This time the mail gods worked fast so I can show it here today :)

First, the little box I made... First one I did of this type, so I asked Nath for forgiveness... it has some imperfections... my perfectionist soul is not 100% happy but I liked the result! I reworked it twice, though.

I used a box from Panduro on the lid of which I placed the stitched piece and added the same type of ribbon in two widths to complement the whole thing. Inside the box, I cut and glued a piece of red felt in the shape of heart as well and I added some nice silks to make Nath' smile...







And here is the rest of the birthday goodies I enclosed...


Talking about these quaker turtles, I just discovered that someone made them in pink HERE. What a beauty, hm? :)

June 14, 2008

HOE freebie exchange from Edgar



Oh see the beautiful piece I received from Edgar today... I am so fond of it! It is finished so beautifully, it feels so soft, I adore the colours... and Edgar, I hope you won't mind me saying this, this is the first piece I ever received stitched by a man... such a precious gift, thank you! I am just delighted with it... :)

Edgar also sent me two pieces of fabric, some DMC skeins, an adorable metal box with chocolate mints.... they disappeared FAST! :)

Time for a major update...

Watch this space over the next days... :)


Yup, I'm in Norway since 3 weeks and nope, life hasn't slowed down :)

How do you busy mothers manage to squeeze some stitching and blogging in? In between work during daytime, cooking, cleaning, gardening, walks with doggie and renewing the house gradually, I don't find time for blogging at all! But I've finally managed to stitch a bit yesterday and today.... a bit :)


Now that my HOE exchange piece is winging its way to my partner, not without hiccups, because not only I sent it late... which I never do! - but I also received it back today... from a country which name sounds very similar... and it's resent, of course... and now that another package is on its way to Nath in France, I signed up for the HOE needleroll exchange, that will be fun!! It's so long since I did the last needleroll. Or was it the first and the last till now? :)



(a cat, a dog, two big pieces of luggage and a backpack with laptop... a yearly summer challenge I am getting used to :)


May 30, 2008



A warm smile from the birthday girl, and a big THANK YOU to everyone who made my day special today... so many wonderful surprises!!

A huge update is in order and will happen... tomorrow.... it's been a long, lovely day... :)

(photo taken today at a restaurant in Oslo - yup, I'm in Norway till end of August!)



April 20, 2008

A rainy Sunday

Rrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!! Major RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! I just accidentally deleted a long post... and I just don't feel like retyping it all.... aaaaargh, computers!

So I'll leave you for today with a photo of a last year's PS finish I never posted, I think... just found it again in my files. A favorite of mine :) I adore embroidered/stitched dollies, tableclothes etc. and collect them.

Prairie Schooler - pattern from #22 "Borders and Corners"


April 18, 2008

PS blog spring exchange from Ela

Now here's a true gem I am delighted to show. I've always wanted to try my hands on making one of these tea pochettes, but I delayed it in time thinking they're not easy at all. And I always thought how wonderful it would be to have my own, and have it with me in my new favorite bag (big smile to Tracy!), filled with a couple of my favorite teas... So imagine my surprise when I opened the package from Ela! Oh how I love it.... I love it!! The tag says Herbata on one side and Wiosenna on the other, which in Polish means Spring Tea. How suitable :)
Ela is one of the most talended ladies I know... and a person I'd love to learn a lot from. Her projects are so creative, so neat, so everything... I feel lucky to be the regular recipient of her work pieces.




And knowing my sweet tooth, Ela sent me not one, but two very special treats... I still remember the ones she sent me for Christmas, green marzipan with chocolate ends... it certainly was one of the best chocolate specialties I ever ate. Now, for the disclaimer - I seldom buy chocolate here in Poland. I just don't find it very good. There are a few Belgium chocolate boutiques in town but with their outrageous prices, I stay clear most of the time. But fancy French, Swiss or Belgian chocolate, I just don't resist. I so miss French pâtisseries... Along with good olives bought by kg, they must be what I miss most from a previous life... Heh.
I can be annoying at times... I don't miss one opportunity in France and Switzerland to have a cup of coffee somewhere with a lemon tartelette... H. follows but he just doesn't get it... Well, it's something I am totally fond of and which I can't buy here. Over the years I learned to make various French lemon cakes, much to H.'s grief because while I love lemon taste, he prefers chocolate :)
Don't get me started on Moroccan pastries... Oh, I miss them so.
But to go back to the main topic of this post.... I also received a piece of awesome sampler Moda fabric Ela knew I loved and couldn't find...

... and one of Ela's hand-made cards... (the texts says Spring greetings in Polish)...

...one of the packages contained (note the past tense! LOL) these eggs...

... and a cute chart!
... and another package was hiding this superb bird... with a belly stuffed with yummy chocolate figurines as well!

The packages from Ela and Donna mark the end of my blog PS spring exchange... a wonderful experience, thank you so much to everyone who participated!
I'm thinking of a new blog exchange... have yet to decide if the timing is right, provided also there would be some interested blogger friends :)

PS blog spring exchange from Donna

Donna made me a tin! I love the little girl on it and its colors, they look so subtle and sweet :) It's my first altoid tin and I love it, thanks so much, Donna!

Donna wouldn't be Donna if she didn't include lots of nice goodies... The self-stick notes are so lovely, and the Milky Way bunny was.... way too yummy!! The little flower-like thing is a little pack of golden ribbon.