Brought To You By The Letter "S"

Stacks of fabric and batting

Stitches in purple, gray and black

Snickers, homemade.

Silly grandson

Sweet P

Weekend Retreat

I took a couple days off and had a personal retreat. I needed a break from the rush of the holidays and with Hotel Man out of town it was perfect time be alone and regroup. I was home alone from Saturday night until Monday night when Mr. E came over. He was here all day Tuesday as well and we just hung out for the day.

Before Hotel Man left on Saturday he captured the winter sun rising off the patio deck.

What did I do on my retreat? I picked up a needle and threads and stitched. I finished stitching three projects for the Poker Room for Hotel Man. All that's left is to press them and stitch on charms. Then they can be framed and hung.

I recently signed up for an online Beginning Needlepoint class from Janet Perry. This is my version of the mini sampler from one of the lessons.

I stitched 2 1/2 more squares on Amazing Color. I can't believe I hadn't touched this project in over three months! I need to spend more time on it or it will never get finished. I added squares A9, A10 and part of A11.

I also belong to Janet's Stash Club and finally started one of the projects, Nana's Afghan. The pattern design is a little larger than mine and calls for a completely scrappy look. I only had a small piece of mono canvas in my stash and am not a fan of scrappy so I'm designing the color scheme as I go along from my stash.
I had a visitor this morning while sipping my cuppa and perusing the overnight Internet news. This cute little red squirrel found his way onto our patio and was hopping around. I only got a photo of him through the screen, but isn't he adorable?
That's all the news for now. Happy stitching to you!

Sweet P

Monday With Dema

Mr. E got to stay with me on Monday as mommy and daddy volunteered to serve lunch at daddy's work. We had a lot fun.

First he decorated the window with Valentine's decorations.

Then we made a glitter jar. He calls it the "shake again jar".

It was train time next. We made tunnels out of oatmeal canisters.

Close-ups of the tunnels:

When mommy came home we went shopping. Mr. E moving into a toddler bed this week. He got to choose his new bedding and chose Thomas the Train. He can't wait to sleep in his new bed at home.

What have you been doing this past week?

Sweet P

2011 In Review

I don't keep track of the projects I work on or the pile of UFOs, WIPs and PIGs in my studio. I do keep track of how many hours and how many dollars I spend on my creating. Here are my results for 2011.

From Jan 1, 2011 - Dec 31, 2011 I spent 488.75 hours creating. That translates to:

• A little over 40 hours a month
• Or 1.34 hours a day
• October was my busiest month where I worked hard to finish Mr. E's dinosaur sweater and hat
  
• February was my least productive month (probably because it's a short month)
  
• November 13 was my most productive day as I finished Santa swap gifts
  

On the money side I spent $1,905.72 for supplies throughout the year.

• That's an average of $158.81 a month
• Or $5.22 a day
• Or $3.90 an hour

These totals aren't as food as last year's numbers as I was working more hours in the last year. This year that will change as my job has been restructured and I will be working only 40 hours a week instead of 45 hours or more.

On the Original side of life this is what our patio look like this morning. We finally had a snowstorm this year. Now Mr. E's trike is covered.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Sweet P

Happy New Year, a Little Late

Belated Happy New Year! I hope the start of the new year has been good for you. So far, the year has been good for me.

I am not a New Year Resolution maker. I dislike setting goals and making plans to change myself. I love to live in the moment and relish the wonder of each morning and what the day will bring to me and my family.

What I did decide to was choose a word for the year. My word for this year is:

ORDINARY

What is ordinary?

• Ordinary is snuggling with The Hotel Man in the early morning before we fully start our day.
• Ordinary is a half-filled coffee cup left sitting on the kitchen counter.
  
• Ordinary is the sound of Mr. E talking to his animals and reading a book while he falls asleep at nap time.
  
• Ordinary is trying a new recipe for dinner.
  
• Ordinary is looking around my house and seeing the remains of my day.

Here are a few photos of the ordinary from the first few days of 2012

Mr E's bike on the back patio

Mr. E decorating wiggly worm cookies

One of the toy corners in the living room

A few leftover Christmas items waiting to be put away

Where can you find ordinary in your day?

Sweet P