I hope you post a pic when you are done. I finally got to see that Sweet Remembrance and it is gorgeous! You are a really thoughtful person because anyone can just go buy a gift. The special items I have received are those that were stitched for me. Sometimes I think only a stitcher (seamstress, knitter, crocheter, tatter (tatting), cross stitcher, quilter and any other type of stitching)realizes this. You are so advanced than me (or I). Pam

Started the right hand side panel and almost reached the top when I decided (for what ever reason) to check it with the left hand side and found I had missed a row on the left hand side. So guess who is carefully unpicking the stitches and beads on the left hand side in preparation to re-stitching ?? Oh well life wasn't meant to be easy.

Went to see my craft ladies today and get another skein of the random thread for the sampler and she said DMC were stopping the earlier numbers and had brought out a new range of colours. Would you believe it ?? I saw in the new selection the perfect random thread colour that would have gone with the other DMC threads I'm using. I am not going to redo what has been done but I think I will go and purchase a skein of each new random colours to go in my collection.

I read on the net that Australia is having some pretty bad weather. Are you okay in New Zealand? It is still amazing (because I was not raised in the age of the internet) that we can keep in touch with our friends in NZ and Denmark and Canada and I guess all over the world. That is a wonderful thing because we get to know people from other states and the whole world and share our love of the stitch. Take care. Sending you a prayer for safety. Pam

We had torrential rain on Saturday in parts of the country which caused flooding but mainly it has been very muggy and uncomfortable. I'm afraid I am a winter person not a summer one. I don't function very well in the heat.

I, too, am a winter person. I am originally from Penn. in the NE and there they have 4 seasons. Here in Oklahoma, it is still in the middle 60's with high humidity. When you are working around the house, you are tempted to turn on the air except your DH stops you. We have had very few freezes so far. The weather has definitely changed=around the world. In this weather, I don't even wear a coat. Feb. will be the coldest. My husband hates cold weather so there is no chance that I ever would have been able to go back "home". I went back to Pittsburgh 3 years ago and it snowed every single day. I was in hog heaven=blowing snow, white outs, the whole 9 yards. My son was with me and he hated it-he should have packed a winter coat because I was smart enough to know what weather I was going to. Anyhow, stay as dry as you can and stitch away. Take care. Pam

Just doing the two rings entwined at the top of the sampler in Krienik braid and the it will be finished - in record time . Now on to the other one and get that one done as soon as I find out the wife's name and the date of marriage as we did not go to the wedding. Then perhaps a few weeks on Sweet Rememberance for something different and then on to the birth sampler.

You need to bottle whatever that "oomph" is that you have and send me a jar. You are absolutely amazing. My aunt always says she's "always as slow as a herd of turtles". I may be part of that turtle herd. Pam

At the moment Pam I am having to stay strong for DH again as he goes into hospital tomorrow for an angiogram and the in early January he goes back the the cancer clinic to see his specialist. So all this stitching is keeping my mind occupied . Then watching my 20 year old fur baby (Portia) I can see she is slowing down since her 22 year old mate (Caesar) died a few weeks ago. Tomorrow I will take a small project and a book with me as I will be at the hospital all day and will need to keep my mind busy. It's hard to realise that this time last year DH was in hospital after having a cancer tumour removed from his bowel in May and then in December he decided to have a stroke and heart attack at the same time which was extremely stressful. I spent all December going on the train to hospital in Auckland and all January going to our local hospital when he was transferred. I'm surprised I am still sane.

Deirdre, I would like to send an ecard to you. My email is pamelastine11@yahoo.com I hope you send it. I promise not to do anything improper. Pam