of moss and leaves

 It's been a while since I posted.  Meme time again!

( 99 questions )

Further adventures in gluten-free eating.

• beef stroganoff, made from scratch with no recipe

• wraps with baked chicken, brie, and cranberries
  I need to add tart apples to this one next time, but was too lazy to slice one.

• chicken curry pizza with smoked mozzarella and cheddar cheeses

five things about me:

• I've been an Earth-person since birth

• love the colour green

• go barefoot whenever possible

• dislike washing dishes

• have an inexplicable fondness for poppy-patterned articles of clothing

Life was quiet this weekend.
We got some snow on Monday morning, so I stayed in bed, working on my needlepoint.  The sunlight helped tell the difference between two colours of cream on the pattern.
Hobbes insisted that he was being neglected.

 

Both cats were surprised to see the snow outside.



Spring is around the corner, however.
The first hellebore has finally started to bloom.

We had a very quiet, uneventful weekend. 
The weather was cold and we got a little snow (which melted by the end of the day).  I think Mother Nature delivers these little dustings to remind us that there is beauty even in the dead of winter.



I holed up in my room and worked on my needlepoint (while under the blankets!).  Hobbes joined me quite a bit of the time; two chilled creatures sharing the warmth and watching the wind outside.



By Sunday evening, I had finished the background of the piece, after four weeks of stitching.
I'm a bit in love with this design. 
Stormy and I have been giggling like 8-year-olds for the past few days.  I've been stitching the background from right to left ('cause my brain is wired strangely) and when telling him where I was in stitching the design, I'd say "Unicorn bum!" in a silly Potter Puppet Pals voice.  It's helped me keep my sense of humour when the intricacy of the pattern was getting to me.
 




Last night, I filled in the last four flowers and completed the thin blue border around the piece.  It's looking much more "finished", even in this state of completion.  Next stop: spotted unicorn!

Yesterday, I had a wonderful day with enemyfrigate.
She took me to an evil yarn shop where we looked at patterns, charts, and colours and dreamt of the things we could make...socks, jumpers, wraps, afghans... 
We only need to learn how to knit...

  

We devoured perfect fish & chips.



We poked our noses into all sorts of shops, complained about the cold wind and lack of access to the beach, and had a relaxing time just chatting about whatever...no timetable or place to be.

Also, this weekend, I began a needlepoint pattern.
The pattern was originally created as a pillow-cover, 10 stitches to the inch, stitched in wools.  I don't have access to similar supplies, so I'm attempting to stitch the design in cotton floss on 18-count canvas.
Within hours, I was conviced that I was losing my mind for even attempting this...

A meme I couldn't resist...naughtiness with books!

Pick up the nearest book to you.
Turn to page 45.
The first sentence describes your sex life in 2012.

"He took her by the waist sae neat and sae sma,
and threw her atween him and the wa."

- English and Scottish Popular Ballads
 

Happy New Year, all.

I've been busy the past week or so.  stormsongk and I have been trying to clean up the house and be more organised.  I've been attempting to clean for a minimum of 15 minutes a day.  So far, we've cleared off nearly half of the kitchen table, our Hoosier cabinet, and much of the kitchen counter.
On Monday, I finished rearranging the dinnerware.  I'm pretty proud of myself.  What's the point of owning all that gorgeous pottery if it's not in a place where it can be used every day?



Also, I've been sharing the seedlings from our lettuce plants that bolted over the summer.  They're everywhere in our back garden, so I waited until they got large enough to transplant and then shared them with family.  Salads for all!



While I was home on Monday, I noticed that Maggie and Hobbes have begun snoozing only a few feet apart in the afternoon sunbeams.  Pretty much the only time these two spend time together is at sunrise (they love to sit in the window) or during games of chase-and-pounce.
I ran for the camera at this sweet sight.

One of my favourite Christmas presents was from my 8-year-old niece, who drew a picture of my cat Hobbes.

I've spent this week watching BBC's 2010 series of Sherlock and then on Saturday stormsongk and I watched Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.  Whee!  Can't wait for Sherlock series 2 to air on New Years Day.