Monday, December 29, 2014

A little birdie told me

Some of you might think that this blog has focused too much on chocolate.

Tuff. Get over it...lol

....not that I have an addiction to the stuff or 


yeah, ...ok .....sigh...


So, I have been a wee bit neglectful of posting my stitching finishes.
Yikes, ... I didn't post too many blogs or too many photos of me finishes this year.
What can I say - Chocolate often gets in the way...  that and my job.

So here goes... an update on my finishes for the year. I finished 61 !!!

whoo hoo!

And to save time posing all the photos here, I decided to post the link to my 2014 album on facebook :)
(I know lazy eh?... sorry, you'll have to be on facebook to view them...)

Stitching album 2014
https://www.facebook.com/helen.omalley/photos_albums

Ah, but there's one I forgot about... finish #62 !


A wee gift for my friend Linda.. who just might like flip flops ;)



Last night I finished a Mill Hill kit my son gave me for this Christmas


Super cute - I'll  keep this one of course.



But it seems I need to stitch this one again.

 Apparently, I got the colours all wrong...



.. or so a little birdie  told me...

Not sure when I'll get the time to do that though..
might be a slight delay due to some major distraction


mmmm...

 can you imagine the s'more I could make with that?

:)










Thursday, November 20, 2014

the long and the short of it...

There are many things in life that I find inspirational. 
Things that unleash my creativity and make me want to try new things. 

I love to take photos 
so here's some  inspiration for my art, including writing....



experimenting with new ways to eat watermelon ...  
yes over a campfire




this huge portrait... made of Lego


of course chocolate... goes without saying


with a view of course

Being in the woods, outodoors...


increasingly so when it's not cold and pouring down rain :)

and birds... love the patterns and colours of their feathers


doesn't this one look so peaceful?

and then there was this....


yes, even chopped hair can be inspirational.

unless done under a full moon



but even then, the end result can still be 

pretty incredibly

gorgeous actually


  friends,
some of the best inspiration


:)




Saturday, November 1, 2014

Parrots gone wild....



Oh I know this is a wee bit late.... 
but I was busy dealing with some mischievous parrots at work this week....



really.. I had nothing to do with this....





Polly - not you too?!?!





sigh.... gotta love the new 'do'



what was all the sqwaking about... oh yeah... maybe these treats?



meanwhile at home ....
word got out to a certain feathery child
that there are birdie treats

 so
 I had to do some treat baking for Kiwi



that's one patient quaker!


All done



mmmm..... thanks mummy!



...and then there were MY treats


oh yeah....

I have the nicest visitors at work!



... in case you're wondering - I work at a parrot supply store
no- there are no real birdies... 
but we do have anything a parrot could ever dream of 

... if you're in the area - drop in and say hi, 
  heck, a sqwaaaaaak is nice too
or a chirp

but please don't dress up any real birds
  

:)





Saturday, October 25, 2014

not just yet.....




For Suzzanne....






Your memory surrounds me
But it seems so far away;
The truth it's all around me
In my eyes just now, not yet.

Your departure was so sudden
This void is too immense
The sun today it's shining
In my heart just now, not yet.

Your promises all in pieces
And future left untold
One day there will be laughter
But for me just now, not yet

Your voice to me now fleeting
Was music to my soul 
One day there will be smiles
But for me, just now not yet

Your love is never ending
Of this I am assured
One day there will be much less pain
But for me, 
just now,
not yet.


Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice but for those who love .. time is eternity.
--Henry Van Dyke. 

Thinking of you Sue and will keep you and your family in my prayers.





Monday, October 20, 2014

I Dare you....

Monday October 20, 2014

Yikes. Where did the summer go?

I think I have some catching up to do ;)

Maybe this is a good place to start.



Let's just say it was a great day at work :)


Had to stock up yesterday, so I went grocery shopping.
Haven't had much time to do any shopping lately.


This is what happens when you go through withdrawal,
and are left on your own in a grocery store.
Heck, who needs bread, milk....
when there's plenty of other stuff on sale :)


I think I may have found my new favourite cookie.

Or is it a chip....hmmmm

Sorry, there won't be much to share here soon.


Oh yeah, they're THAT good.
I Dare you to try it for yourself.


Off to find a new hiding spot.
For me... and my stash.






Thursday, July 3, 2014

Red and white ... for a purpose

In Canada, July is the colour of red and white.... reflecting our country's flag.



Of course there are other ways of celebrating Canada Day...

Celebrating with lovely music


and desert


I may have had a second... or third... or
heck who was counting


there was chocolate marble cake under there
somewhere


Celebrating with friends

and desert


yes... I did share.

And only had one.
No, 
really.

That day at least :)



Celebrating with family
in particular with Legoson

and desert


yes that is CHOCOLATE balsamic vinegar




ok, now this ... 


was my Legoson's idea.
He's into experimenting with food combinations.

Not on my desert.

Oh, there may have been other deserts...
like the banana split I had last night
(with strawberries of course),
brownies....
the rest is all a blurr.

Of course there was a purpose to all this.

Had to 'bulk up' for my journey this weekend.

I may just be burning off all those calories.

...but that's another story....

 if I survive
 ;)





Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Are we home yet????


My friend Linda is in the hospital. She told me she is bored. (Maybe she shouldn't have told me that... I can get a wee bit creative sometimes, lol)

So here, without further ado.... Just for you Linda,

Top 20 things to do 
when you're stuck in the Hospital 

20. 
It’s a little-known fact that most hospital beds can be lengthened. Choose a moment when the nurses are busy, (maybe during their nap time), and extend  the bed. This may result in a flury of cute doctors and attendants scurrying to wonder how the heck your legs shrank. Just act nonchalant, or you may land on the front page of the enquirer. Oh, but that may be fun too.

19. 
When the janitor is off, borrow two poles, attach a pair of shoes. Now grab that bucket of paint that you carefully were hiding in the bathroom ... dip the sole of each shoe in some paint and proceed to make footprints on the ceiling. When nurses ask where the footprints came from, just casually respond it was the new exercises that the physiotherapist recommended.

18. 
Redecorate your room with hospital supplies. Interesting patterns can be made from simple things like bandaids, IV tubing....

17. 
Organize a national day of wheelchair races down the corridors.

16. 
Act like a duck the next time the doctor comes around. Make sure to ask him what time the pond opens for your noontime swim.

15. 
Ask that hunky male nurse to give you a bed bath. Suggest he might need help and should send for a few firemen just to be on the safe side.

14. 
Start a food fight in the cafeteria. Make sure you're the first to grab the mashed potatoes.

13. 
Stand in a doorway with an IV filled with water and spray passing people.

12. 
Polish your finger and toe nails. Since you will not have any nailpolish, use a q tip and some of the yellow iodine tincture. It will look unique and clever.

11. 
If there is a suggestion box in the hospital cafeteria, write “cocktail hour” on several notes to fill it.

10. 
Take three pigs, and label them 1, 2, and 4. Then let them loose around the hospital. When they find these pigs they will wonder where #3 is, and will continue looking.

9. 
Place a bunch of pillows on a wheel chair in the shape of a person, then cover with a blanket. Leave a little note pinned to the blanket saying “do not wake!” Then put the wheelchair in the elevator.

8. 
Make beautiful water fountain statue out of syringes, I.V. tubes, and bedpans. 

7. 
Fill several hospital gloves with water and start a water balloon fight in the children's ward. The nurses LOVE this.

6. 
Turn around in the bed and put your feet on the pillow, even funnier if you cover yourself except for the feet. Draw little faces on your toes.

5. 
Blow up a glove & hold it closed. When staff comes to examine you... Use it like a whoopy cushion ... Just look at another person with a sly smile.

4. 
During the night cover everything in your room with aluminum foil.... when the nurses wake you the next morning, calmly say, “See? It worked! The aliens didn't abduct me last night.”

3. 
Get one of those giant remote controlled balloons – make sure it's a pink elephant. When people come in to visit you, pretend you don't see it.

2. 
Learn a new musical instrument. Make sure it's portable for wheelchair rides. Trumpets are perfect. Mornings are the best time to practice.



and THE number ONE thing to do?

1. 
Make a list of all the things you will do when this phase of your life is over. It doesn’t matter how crazy or unlikely they are, just write them down. There is a life after this, and you have the right to dream big.


Wishing you a speedy recovery Linda
and 
may you soon be dancing again 
:)

Monday, June 16, 2014

Hold it or not....

Long story short: I have conquered Candy Crush. Oh Yeah. Big time stealer, lol.... well, until we meet again and they add more levels, sigh...

I've been enjoying the outdoors a bit more lately...(when I ran out of CC lives of course, lol) and the weather has been gorgeous. Take a look at some of the flowers I captured on my camera...





Look at all those Trilliums!


Best way to hold onto those blooms - take a photo!


Mid May was Scouting JOTT (Jamoree on the trail)  - that's when Scouts all over the world go on some sort of a hike the same day This year it was on May 10

Spent a beautiful day up at Blue Springs Scout Camp.



And what's a hike without some good friends :)
Definitely ones to hold onto.

Me and Mark - crest designer extraordianaire 
and one of the main organizers of JOTT




and my dear friend Florence 
- a super duper Scouter and one of the nicest people you'll ever meet.




Some friendly friends of the forest... look at the colour on this one!


Not one I'd like to hold though.

Some birds you just wonder about...




Hold on....Seriously ... you built your nests ....up there???
Guess there was a shortage of prime trees this year.


Mind you, ample supply of flies 

For my friend Teresa - yes there are spiders... 
so IF you're ever up there, I imagine you'd rather hold it
than go.

Just a thought....









Tuesday, May 20, 2014