Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Stitching, Lovely Visits and Loads of Photos!!

Hello everyone!

It has been quite some time since I have done a post. I am still working on catching up with emails and blog posts (got it down from over 500 to 350!) Thank you for all your lovely comments on my last post.  Know that each and everyone of them mean a lot to me!

It has been a very busy couple of weeks so I will fill you in on what has been going on in my part of the world.  Last week I worked with a lovely group of grade 3's and 4's.  Split classes are quite difficult to manage but the teacher I worked for has her class set up perfectly.  There was one day during the week I didn't work, so we took advantage of the semi-nice day and took a long bike ride all over the city.  We traveled to North Vancouver by Seabus, then decided to go up to Grouse Mountain, where the school I work for is located.  I have actually never been up to the top of the mountain before so I was glad to get the chance to enjoy it.  Wow, the air is so fresh up there!! We also visited the Cleveland Dam and I have to say I as a bit of a chicken trying to take a photo of the dam.  I'm not too keen on heights! After the damn, we had the immense thrill of  cycling down the mountain! We even cycled over the Lion's Gate Bridge! Bit scary, but I'm proud to proclaim I have conquered the bridge. Needless to say, I was extremely sore for the next couple of days, particularly my upper back! I suppose going down a mountain you need a lot of upper body strength, something I'm sorely lacking in. Here are some photos of our 8 hour long trip!
My chicken shot of the dam through the bars
Lion's Gate Bridge view of Georgia Straight
So then on Friday, I met up with a fellow blogger for tea! Melissa, from Words and Blooms, is a most wonderful, sweet lady who I have enjoyed getting to know.  She stitches the most beautiful Blackbird Design pieces and samplers and was one of the first blogs I followed.  Both her sampler stitching and Margaret's, inspired me to stitch a sampler of my own!! She is always so generous and brought me the most beautiful frog, linens and a cute cat pin cushion! I stitched her a design from Nan's Threadwork Primitives but hadn't found the perfect fabric, or time, to finish it! I'm on the hunt Melissa!! Be sure of that!! Look at the beautiful frog she got me!
Isn't it beautiful?!
I LOVE his little bag of fish!!!
Lovely linens!!
Threadwork Primitives freebie I stitched for Melissa
A new Quaker small using one of Melissa's linens!
This past weekend was so beautiful here in Vancouver.  We had sunshine!!! AND MY MOM VISITED ME!!! I was so happy to have her stay over, even if it was just for one night, it was fun. We watched a foreign film that was really slow moving, but okay. In the morning, we chatted, looked at loads of your blogs, ooh'd and ahh'd over samplers, Chatelaine's, cute ornaments, HAED's, everything!  It was a great morning! Then we did my taxes. Bleh. However, we are getting quite a bit back from the government so a BIG happy dance going on here!!!! After that, we took a long walk along the Quay and enjoyed a lunch/dinner at the PaddleWheeler Pub.  Unfortunately we didn't have anytime to do any sewing but she may stay a bit longer and come over again...I sure hope so!!
I love that last photo of a kid's bike caked with the mud from the river.  The tide was out so we could see what sorts of things lay at the bottom of the river!

Sorry if this is taking awhile. I hope you had some tea or coffee to enjoy this post...I am nearly finished!!

Even though I have had a crazy couple of weeks, I have managed to put in some stitches here and there.  I have added a lot of little motifs and bit more of the border in Jane. I put in a couple of stitches in TBF too. I know Margaret has been antsy for an update.  I should probably mention that Margaret was the other recipient of my RAK and I'm happy to report that she loved the little gift! It seems that both Mia (Margaret's cat) and Clarisse (Lynn's cat) were VERY interested in the pillows too! I think they smelt Titus' scent on the pillows!I do try to keep him away but he likes to be in the midst of my stitching and sewing!!

I would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter! I hope you all had a wonderful time with your family and friends.  We will be celebrating our Pascha this weekend and boy am I looking forward to it! It is the most important time of the year for Christians: the resurrection of Christ!! I will do a separate post after Pascha to share with you some of our traditions.


Sunshine, my cousins' bunny

If you read down to here you made it!! I hope you enjoyed my post and I am looking forward to spending some time reading all of your posts today.  It's nice to finally have a relaxing day to read, stitch and enjoy some good tea!

Hugs to you all!

Anne




29 comments:

Catherine said...

Wonderful post! Loved the pictures from your bike trip!
How fun that you got together with Melissa! Isn't getting together with blogging friends so much fun? Lovely goodies too.
Great photo of you and your mom, great stitches and love that bike picture ~ great shot!

Ewa said...

You are so brave to go on such a bike ride! When Boyfriend and I lived in the same city we used to go biking together everywhere. I'm not a very good biker but he is and he was very patient with me. Now we don't get to do that anymore. It looks like you've been enjoying yourself. Your photos, as always, are lovely and your stitching looks wonderful!

Margaret said...

Oh wow! You have been busy! I love seeing all the pics of your bike ride. Better you than me. lol! I know I couldn't do it. Glad you got to visit Melissa too -- she seems sooo nice! And yay about visiting with your mom too! Jane. Oh Jane! Gorgeous!! She just gets gorgeouser and gorgeouser! I want to stitch her so badly, but I just don't know if I'm up to her right now with my stitching blahs. I know one thing though -- I'm going to be watching your progress avidly. :D

Vickie said...

What a ride! So glad you had a lovely visit with your mom.

geeky Heather said...

Looks like you have been having a great time! Beautiful pictures!! =) I'm a total chicken when it comes to heights, too... =)

Minnie said...

It seems you took full advantage of your days off and had a great time. I love the pictures especially the bike in the mud. Your stitching is beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Lovely photos!

Julie said...

Great photos and update.
Next time i ride a bike,i have told DH i want a seat the size of an armchair. ;)

♥ Nia said...

I enjoyed your post from the beginning to the end! :)
Looks like you've been busy and having a great time!! :D
Can't wait to read more about your Easter traditions!! It's fun to know more from other countries :) enjoy it! Have a lovely Easter season! :D
Hugs&smiles

weustygirl said...

lovely post, thank you for sharing the beautiful photos that you took.

Mouse said...

well I got to the end but need another brew ..lol
well done on the bike ride and going over that bridge etc.
great that you got to meet up and got some lovely goodies ... love the wee scissor frog :)
love mouse xxxx

Chris said...

Wonderful post Anne!
Congratulations on the bike ride. Your pics of the area are beautiful.
How great that you met up with Melissa.
Your sampler is looking fabulous. Great trees.
So nice that you had time with your Mom!

Stitching Noni said...

Wow I am exhausted just reading all you have been doing. Like Mouse I need another cuppa ;0). Thank you for all the great pics of your bike ride. It was lovely to see a pic of you and your mum ;0). Hope you have a lovely weekend.

Carol said...

What a happy post, Anne--so many joyful things! Your bike ride (my husband would be envious--he is a major bike rider!), your meeting with Melissa (you lucky girl--she is one of my favorite blogging friends), and, of course, your dear mom visiting (we both got lucky with our mom's visits, didn't we?)...

Lovely photos and Jane is really looking great... Enjoy your week :)

Cristina said...

Hi, Anne! I enjoyed your very long post and all photos, embroidery, gifts, your bike ride, you and your mother... I loved to know more about you and your life.
Hugs!

Melissa said...

What a bike ride! I would feel woozy over that bridge but you did good!

It was lovely to visit with you. Next time I think I'd better not come after an acupuncture appointment - I get so mellow and just want to lie on the couch! ;-)

Glad you are enjoying your visit with your mom. Hey, Happy Easter coming up!

ps almost forgot - Jane is looking great!

Deb said...

It looks like the bike trip was a great time! Love your stitching - especially your A&E!

Dani - tkdchick said...

I'm glad someone in this country is enjoying spring and warmer weather! I'm getting antsy to get out but still a chicken when it either might rain or its kinda cold.

So lucky to meet up with fellow bloggers I love doing that.

Great stitching!!!

valerie said...

Lucky Girl! How exciting you got to meet Melissa!She's one of the sweetest. Love the frog and goodies. You're brave. I'm scared to bicycle but it looks like you had a fantastic ride...and a lovely visit with your mom! Fantastic!

Great progress on Jane and TCF! I'm in a slump! I've been trying to organize my DMC. I hope to snap out of it soon! :)

Sweet Sue said...

Hi Anne, glad to have found your blog, happily following in my Reader. Kind thx for your sweet visit/comments at my place:) Happy Spring!

Kathy Ellen said...

Great pictures of your biking trip! So glad that you enjoyed it. How nice to be able to spend some special time with Melissa and with your dear Mother.

Love your beautiful new 'frog', and your stitching is really nice. Your springtime flowers are lovely. Our trees are in bloom, but the flowers haven't even budded here yet. Have a lovely week.

Sally said...

Fantastic photos of your trip Anne!

Beautiful gifts and stitching too :)

Joysze said...

ANNIIEEEE!!!!! Hey darlin'!! I got to the end of the post and was like... MORE MORE MORE!! LOL!!

Awww, look at you and your mom and weren't you sassy!!! Hehehe.

Love the pics from the bike ride. Good thing you took them to show cos I'd never do that. ;)

Yummy gifts from Melissa. I've only ever emailed her, and I agree... she's so sweet. :D

Happy Pascha, my dear.

HMBW!!!

Virpi said...

It looks like you had a wonderful trip. Your stitching looks great.

Veronica said...

I'm a little behind on my blog reading too. Looks like you've had a wonderful time. The scissors frog is beautiful but man, that kitty pincushion is adorable.

Jane is going great and lots of progress on Teacup Fairy. Sunshine looks so huggable. I wanna give it a hug ^.^

Hugs,
Veronica.

Siobhán said...

What a great post! I'm so happy that you got to meet up with Melissa--she is one of my favorite friends that I've made through blogging. :) I enjoyed all the photos--looks like you've been having a fun and busy time! Your stitching is so pretty--and that Jane. Oh, my! Beautiful.

Meari said...

Wow, lots to read about :)

The Kulich looks yummy, as does the dinner.

At first when I saw the pic of the bike, I though it was a charm laying on the ground, lol.

Love the pic of you and your Mom!

Meari said...

P.S. Nice progress on all your stitching :)

Lynn said...

This is a wonderful post Anne! I enjoyed seeing your pics of the bike trip.
Too funny that Mia was also very interested in the pillow! Obviously Titus left his mark!
Now I see your Dutch Tulip. I hadn't realized you'd stitched this one when I started mine. Great minds think alike!