Everything is OK

Everything is OK.
This has been my mantra for about a week now.
I had a bit of a scare earlier in the week.
Things were happening that I perceived as alarming.
The worse thing you can do is turn to google for help or advice. Of course, being me, that is precisely what I did.
That may have made things horrendously worse.
This is why in every couple, you have a yin and yang.
Jo is the voice of reason at the moment.
Last month I was the voice of reason, so it is his turn this month.
Rest assured, everything is OK!
Since my last appointment for the baby, I have learned many things.
I am allowed one or two cups of coffee per day. It truly is only one cup.

That is a very small cup of coffee. I used to be able to have three times the size of that!
I also have to stay away from mint and chamomile teas. I wonder if I have to avoid mint entirely or just went mixed with tea? Question for my next appointment.


I have completed my slipper socks.


I have also been working hard on my blanket.

Pinterest gave me an idea to sew an extra soft piece of fabric to the back side. I really like that idea. I have a design plan for the front which would leave a lot of ends to weave through. That piece of fabric can act like a security feature.

Little Man is back at school. The routine for Jackie and I is back to somewhat normal. When we venture out for our walk, we still have to stop if we see a giant yellow bus approaching. It might have our boy on board.

It hasn't been easy, but I have been making efforts to not worry about everything under the sun.
Everything is OK!

Adjustments

Have you tried Windows 10?
We just installed the version that was made available to Windows users about week ago.
I am still adjusting.
It does things automatically and constantly asks if I had logged in with a certain password on a certain site.
I understand it is a security feature. I just wish it would acknowledge my memory card from my camera so I can upload my pictures. Currently I have to preform dark rites in order to transfer my photographs.
There is also that new web browser, Edge. It works great for some sites, not so much for others. For example, through Edge I cannot upload photos onto blogger, but I can through Firefox.
I guess they still have some bugs to work through.

Do you remember when I told you about how I was going to enter my painting in the town fair?
Well, I came fifth! (out 6 participants)

I dropped and picked up my painting, but because of my work schedule, I was unable to actually visit the fair. I was able to send representatives. Hubs and Jacob were very kind to report back to me that the other paintings looked like paint-by-numbers.
I feel good about my efforts. I stepped out my comfort zone and put myself out there! Other people, strangers even, saw my work. This is a huge accomplishment for me.

I have also been knitting.
I completed my Coexist socks.

I have to be honest. I lost steam knitting these up. They are complete. I will wear them with pride, but I doubt if I will knit another pair.

To get over that little speed bump, I decided to do a bit of stash busting and knit up a pair ankle socks with yarn my Mother in law gave me.

Since I loved the Socks on a Plane pattern, I decided to improvise my own.


As well, we have chosen some very bright colours to knit a baby blanket.

This would bring us to part two of adjustments I have been making.
I am pregnant.
I am currently at week 6. So, everything is still really new and very much developing.
I googled what the baby would look like at this stage and the image really hit home. This is something that I never in a million years thought would happen to me and I am thrilled beyond words. There are some very serious life style changes happening right now. No alcohol, more calcium, more worrying and more caution. I want to give this child the best possible outcome available within my powers.

I am still very much in shock, but very happy. I am going to work my socks and catch up on Sense8 I wish you all a very good Monday!

Hello August

July was a decent month. There was a little bit of drama, but nothing we cannot handle.
I completed my cross stitch, Colourful Night Cat.

I have even started on my next large cross stitch pattern, Deathabilly.

Please ignore the pet hair.

The garden is doing amazing.
My tomatoes are almost taller than me.



I think we will have quite the harvest this season.

I had the pleasure of sampling some with my dinner last night.

I love the colours of this particular fruit. I'll have to remember to look for the name next time I go outside.

Even Hub's pepper plants are off to a good start.


Our Honeysuckle is thriving. You can even see it from down the street.


I have also been knitting, but it is more out of habit. I don't really feel like actually completing my projects. I go through these periods of inactivity quite often. It will pass.

I also celebrated my birthday. It was quiet. I loved it.
Jacob baked me a cake and made a very tasty supper.
I couldn't be more proud.
He is turning out to be quite the chef.

I don't think we took a photo of the meal. We must have been too busy enjoying it.
You will just have to take me word for it!

To top off the month of July, Little Man is now employed.
He has a job looking after a large Retriever named Clifford.
He will have to go everyday, ensure Clifford has food and water and goes out to do his business.
His employer is beyond relieved to have found someone to dog sit his fuzzy child and Jacob couldn't be happier.
This may not seem like a big deal, but it is huge.
This young man is finally starting to have confidence in himself. This time last year it was like pulling teeth trying to get Jacob to say what he felt. People were walking all over him and Jacob was allowing it to happen. The very worse? It members of his own family. He started to stand up those people. It took a lot courage. Now those people have blocked him on facebook. At the end of the day however, he is becoming his own man. He has a sense of right and wrong. He is gaining some inner confidence. I like to think he is has his feet on the right path.

Oh! Another huge deal!!
I am now married to a non smoker.
I can safely say that Jo has been smoke free for a month. He started out with the patches. He went through two weeks of those. On the third stage he decided they were not really helping. He cut them off. Now he explains to me that he just gets these little thoughts about smoking. Usually when he is bored. Jo has found however, that if he says what is on his mind, does not let people get away with too much unnecessary drama, there is absolutely no craving whatsoever.
I'm quite proud of these men in my life. We have all come a long way. I am looking forward to this next month to see what new adventures await us!

Growing and Sewing

These past few weeks have just flown by.
Even though I am still working while other lucky people are enjoying their holidays, I am having a great time.
It helps that I have a four day week end and my own holidays quickly approaching.
I finally finished sewing the drapery for Little Man's room.
He is over the moon excited about the darkness.
The sun has lately been making an appearance at 04h30.
These block out a lot of that glorious sunshine.

They also seem possess magical powers that entice the young man to clean his room.
He actually does have a floor.

The garden is also doing splendid!
These Lilies never had a chance last year because of my nemesis the Red Lily Eating Beetle.
Behold:

I love the colours.

I'm pretty sure these might be weeds, but I like them.
So they stay!


I had thought that my Butterfly bush had perished due the harsh winter.
I was mistaken.


Same about our Honeysuckle as well. It had split right at the bottom and Hubs and I both thought it was doomed.
It is a hardy little thing!


Lastly, check out the tomato plants. They will tower over the fence soon.
The key ingredient is chicken poop.


As a celebration to a great week end, Little Man and I baked strawberry cupcakes with actual strawberries.

I believe there are four left.

Not much else really going on in our little world.
Just enjoying each day as it comes.
I hope you are well!
Enjoy the day.

Little Shop of Horrors

On my last post, I forgot to show you our very own Little Shop Of Horrors.
Here is our Venus Fly Trap enjoying a nice light snack.



On a much less creepy note, There is a lovely blog I read titled 2 Bags Full. At the moment there is a giveaway contest to win a gorgeous journal. I posted the link here if you are interested.

I hope you are all enjoying your week.
Talk soon.

Feeling A Little Lazy

I have one more night to work then I am off for a few nights. With all of these projects staring at me and no motivation to work on any of them, I feel lazy. This always seems to happen on the week ends I work. Then I remind myself of all the progress I have actually made during the week.

My Colourful Night Cat cross stitch:

I just have that grey outlining border to complete and it will be finished. I also need to vacuum off all of the pet hair.

My mystery knit a long socks are moving along nicely.

I just have to download the toe portion and I will have a lovely pair of Coexist socks!

Oh! You should see how our garden is doing.
The spinach is finally making an appearance.

They are small, but clearly visible!

The tomatoes are in excellent form.


So are my raspberries.

I just have to get to them before Jackie. She left me four to enjoy last season.

We even have a very tiny Thai Dragon pepper growing.


Since I have started painting a little more consistently, I decided to go out for a drive and see if there were any images that I can convert into paintings.
I came across this friendly furry creature:

He (or she, I respect his privacy) seemed really interested in the truck. Jackie wanted nothing to do the giant furry beast.

When we arrived back home I made a very sugary dessert. I am not even sure what to call it.

It is a mixture of honey, oatmeal cereal, currants, peanut butter and marshmallows, melted on together on low heat. Poured into a casserole dish and left to cool down in the fridge for a few hours. It was miles too sweet for Hubs, but Little Man and I loved it!

Last on my list of works in process are curtains for Little Man's room.

I have my fabric.
I have my idea.
I just need to execute.

I hope you are all having a great week end.
It is a little rainy over here but, that is perfect sleeping weather for me.
Have a good one everyone!

Drive Home

After a hectic week of work, I was finally able to complete my painting.

I call it Drive Home.
Oil on canvas
18 x 24"

I think it is complete. I might go in later and do some touch ups.
I usually take a break from a piece, then give it a good eyeballing to see if it feels right.

I started something else as well this afternoon.

It is a very rough draft. I am trying to plan and see how everything will work together.

We have had a lot of rain this past week so I have not had the opportunity to go and explore our garden as much as I would like.
I did however notices our Irises.


My Begonias are also doing amazing!


........and my Lemon Tree plant came back from the dead.


As a bonus to myself and my family, because they will be dining with me this evening, I am slow roasting a chicken using herbs from our very own garden!

This is pretty exciting for me. I love the smell that is coming out of my kitchen. I think the animals do as well because they are all gathered around the oven.

Now I am going to put up my feet with a large cup of coffee and enjoy the silence while I have the house to myself for a little longer.
Have a great day everyone!