BABY JAMES BATH TIME

Here is my son in law with his little prince. Notice the T shirt he's wearing saying THIS SI MY CLONE.

ON THE TOP PHOTO ARE MY SON IN LAW, MY DAUGHTER AND THE LITTLE PRINCE..JB

MEETING MY NEW GRANDSON

I've promised some photos of my new grandson James but I'm having some difficulty uploading some pictures on. my blog. I've managed to upload quite a few but each time they go into another draft and not on the same draft causing me to pull the little bit of hair I have left.  Here is a picture of me meeting my grandson for the first time as soon as I got to Ottawa I went directly to the hospital and stayed the whole day.

Can you tell that grandma is happy.
Even my computer savy son in law had a difficult time getting  some pictures to upload on my blog for some reason and

the computer is slow which doesn't help.  I'll try to post a few more photos later . Sorry for being so computer illiterate especially with this little notepad. I loose a lot of my typing  so you can see why I've haven't posted much.

 I can't believe that I got my 50th follower last evening and I'm so greatful to be able to mark the arrival of my grandson with this milestone. I'm looking forward to blog more seriousely when I get home. Right now  my daughter still needs me  so I'm happy to be able to be a bit useful.  Hugs to all.  JB           
 

 

THURSDAY IN OTTAWA.

It doesn't seems that I've been away from blogging for almost a week.
Sorry friends for the long absence. The baby has been a great distraction and a great joy in my liife so I haven't spent much time on the computer. Although the little prince is such a good baby, he still needs a lot of attention.

Whenever I start to post some blog comments, the little prince wakes up and demands attention.

I've taken lots of pictures but I don't have a Piccassa album  set up on my settings and will do better when I return home.

I just wanted you to know that I still read your blogs but haven't commented much. Have a safe week.  JB

FRIDAY IN OTTAWA

I.'m having some baby widrawl today. my grandson had to be brought back to the hospital and I haven't seen him all day.

When he was born the cord was wrapped around his neck and they had to use a suction device to pull him out fast and the doctor said that he may become jaundice because of it. He was checked yesterday for jaundice and they kept him at the hospital so he could be put under some special lights to get rid of the jaundice.

He's doing much better today as he's less sleepy and is more awake and eating more. We are hoping that inhe might be coming home tomorrow.

I'm sorry for not posting before this but I had to get used to working on a small notebook computer and I kept running into trouble because I couldn't send my comments. I.m learning  something new. it's way slower than working on my own comp   uter. I may be able to post a few pictures tomorrow.I;ll wait for my daughter to be home because I don't want to screw up her computer.

I've read eveyone's comments and want to thank everyone who read my blog and commented with congratulations and well wishes. It would take too long to respond to everyone as I have to share the computer with my daughter and check my 70  emails and answer some of them and I'm sooo slow on this computer. 
 
 Thanks for your visit. everyone. JB



  

PROUDLY PRESENTING THE NEWEST MEMBER OF OUR FAMILY

Here at last is a photo of my daughter Christine and her new little tiger cub. I know that I'm being partial here folks but I think that he is absolutely adorable. The labor was fast and this girl JUST DO IT too.She gets things done fast like her grandmother, her mother and even her sister.  It must be in our genes.

Now, I'm off to pack my bags. Thanks for leaving comments, I'm not sure when I'll be able to have access to a computer to acknowledge them but rest assure that I'll read them as soon as I possibly can.  JB

HE'S FINALLY HERE

My new grandson is finally arrived at 7 lbs 11 oz, two weeks early.
He arrived early this morning at 1:44AM.
I was just talking to my daughter shortly before her water broke . We had ended our conversation and she said that she had gone to the bathroom shortly before I called and needed to go again.

About 15 minutes later she called to tell me that her water broke and that she had called the hospital and they told her to come in. A short labor and soon she had the little bundle with her.   My prayers have been answered. I can't wait to hold him tomorrow or at least see him.
Thanks for all your prayers and caring. Hugs  to all.     Julia

IT'S CLEAN BUT I'M DIRTY...

I've been after my husband to clean the chimney it seems for ages because I'm afraid of chimney fires. We've been  burning a lot of wood as it's been cold and some of the wood he's been burning is a bit wet and the temperature has been fluctuating with warm and freezing and it all adds moisture in the chimney and accumulate creosote which is very flammable.

Last year I hired a couple of chimney sweeps and all they did was push a brush up the chimney from the little clean-out door that is accessible from inside the garage and they charged me $75.00 plus tax and I was wondering about the top part of the chimney. I'm sure that they didn't even reached all the way to the top.

This week I went to our local hardware store, good ole Canadian Tire and purchased a folding ladder that I've been wanting to buy for a long time . It was on special at half price. This ladder reaches 17 feet high. 
So today, my hubby  decided that since it wasn't too cold he would not light a fire  and he would clean the chimney with my help.  

He attached  a weight on a wire chimney brush and  folded the long rope in two and attached it to the brush and lowered it down the chimney while I pulled on the other end to which also was attached a weight.

I was in the garage pulling on the cord while the soot was flying everywhere and he was pulling from the top to loosen the creosote accumulation and there was a lot. A good thing I was wearing a tuque on my head to keep my hair clean but my face got dirty.

Here is Grandma Black Soot.
This is a self portrait holding my camera at the end of my arm. The soot accentuated my every wrinkles but look at that satisfied smile.  My throat was black with soot, it's not all shadow.  It really makes me look my age.

 So my ladder has more than half paid for itself already. A great investment and now I can sleep feeling more secure especially on windy days. And I'll make sure that we don't wait so long between chimney clean up.

Keep warm and safe and thanks for leaving comments.  JB

I JUST DID IT AGAIN... ANOTHER FIRST

This is the time of year that I don't really like. All sorts of things goes on. First, I notice that I've put on a few extra pounds from being indoors more and the festivities and all that, the daylight is short, I don't care much for the snow because I'm afraid to fall like I did last winter and either break bones because I have osteoporosis or suffer a concussion. I worry every time someone have to drive in bad weather and the thing that I hate the most is filing piles of papers at the year end. It's really a pain in the rear end...  I normally do it a little later in the year but this year I have to have it done before I leave on January 18th for analysis study of some sort.

I've been feeding the birds extra food because I have three fat squirrels who have been raiding the feeders. I counted 18 mourning doves at the feeder this morning and lots of chickadees, a woodpecker but I didn't see my cardinals. This photo was taken through my dirty window yesterday morning and before I could clicked the shutter button a whole bunch flew in a nearby evergreen tree in the backyard.

Today I  bit the bullet and  JUST DID IT again, I ordered a set of 4 aluminum dye spoons and I couldn't believe the price. $65.00 US.  I also ordered 33 packages of Cushing's Acid Dye and a color chart, and 2 yards of fine scottish linen for finer cuts. I've never used fine Scottish linen before. Boy, I plan to be busy.

 My order couldn't be shipped today because the W. Cushing & Company were close because of the storm but they answered my email.  They also informed me that I get a 20% discount on my dyes which was great news to me. So tomorrow, I'll finish my transaction.  I've been wanting to do this for a long time and now it's done. The Canadian dollar is strong and the timing couldn't be better for me.

I'm still waiting for a book I purchased on Amazon.com on Dec. 20th, Hooked Rug Landscapes and it's supposed to be shipped between January 19 to Feb. 18. I never knew that it would take that long to arrive. They have received my money but I'm still waiting for the book. Someone is dragging their feet. I'm not impressed with the seller.

You know that even if I don't enjoy January either, I've did some new things that I never tried before. I know that it's no big deal to some but to a person like me who is not very technical, it's been rather rewarding. I usually like to deal with people face to face. I'm old fashion and it's hard to teach this old bitch new tricks.  I hope that everyone who are affected by this latest snow storm stay warm and safe and have plenty of milk and bread to eat and that you don't loose your electricity.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving comments.  JB

IT'S HERE... NOT THE GRANDSON, THE BOLT OF DORR MILL WOOL

First of all, I was very surprised this morning to see that I had 2 new followers on my blog. And you know my reaction, my mouth opened wide and my jaw dropped.  The words that came out were " Oh my gosh, two new followers! " It feels like a ray of sunshine when I get new followers, I get a warm feeling inside. Welcome  The Paisley Studio and  Donna of Starkey Hollow blog. I intend to read your blog as soon as I finish this post. I just didn't had enough time this morning.

I was just back from the barn this morning having a cup of fresh brewed coffee when the door bell rang.  The kind petite letter carrier was delivering my big bolt of Dorr Mill wool right to my door. She had a big smile on her face as she put down my big package. I think that she went the extra mile for me and I'm so grateful for the excellent service this letter carrier gave.

I anxiously opened the package which was extremely well wrapped and I tell you even if this package would have ended up in the river, it would have floated, it was so air-tightly wrapped. I also got a #5 cutter wheel but the price went up quite a bit from last February. Last year I paid $23.95 + tax for each cutter  and this time I paid $38.50 for it plus tax of course.  I received a small black wool swatch speckled white as a freebee. It cost around $12.00 for shipping the whole package  which was not bad at all.

To keep on with my new motto, Just Do It, I ordered my air line ticket online this morning for the first time. I didn't know what to expect and I was reading everything and I had to keep extending my alloted time to do the buying on line.   I'll be leaving on  January 18, and come back whenever. It's a direct flight and I'm glad that I'm leaving a day ahead of schedule because the 19th is full moon and we know that more babies are delivered on the full moon. Well, actually not on the full moon but during the full moon. lol...I just hope he waits for me to get there.

For those of you who saw this before, please bear with me. I'm just trying to show Donna what goes into making my Childhood Memories rug. I just roughly drew my memories on a page and then I cut them out and I taped the drawings on a large piece of flip board paper. I had more memories but I couldn't fit everything on.

Then, I placed my burlap backing on top and traced the best I could with a Sharpie.  It's amazing that we can see through the burlap.  Notice that all there is here are ideas.

I hooked the figures first and added fillers like trees and clouds and tracks in the snow. I'm not pleased of my ribbon on top but I'm leaving it for now and the cow udder is too big in the back and there are several other details that bothers me.

When I first started hooking I used a home made frame until I bought this one My rug hooks on the gripper bars tightly but I think that a rectangular frame would work better for me as my rugs are rectangular.

 This is my Bliss model A cutter and as long as I keep it clean, it works well. I now have  #3, #4, #5, #6 cutter wheel to make four width strips of wool for hooking.  I use a Medium hook most of the time but I also have a fine and a large hook. The wrench is to take the brass nut off to change the cutter. The sharp snipper scissors is to snip my wool ends so it looks neat.

This is my work station in the sun room. I keep my wool swatches rolled up so I can see at a glance colors that I need to work with. My snippets goes in the little basket most of the time and the rest goes on the floor. I have three baskets of wool worms in small snack size Ziplolock baggies so they don't get mixed up.  I've clipped the corners a tiny bit to allow air in the baggies. The baskets with covers hold some clean recycled wool and I have three big drawers full upstairs.

What I'm not showing here is me hooking. Maybe some day, I'll get my husband George to take a picture of me. Oh my, that's scary. 

Thanks for your visit and leaving a comment.  JB

A BOLT OF LIGHTNING? NO, A BOLT OF DORR MILL WOOL

My new Motto for 2011 is JUST DO IT.  I have followed that advice from a Rug Hooking Daily friend who once said to me,  JUST DO IT when I told her that I have been contemplating starting a blog but never even tried. Even my daughters wanted me to start my own blog but I thought that I had nothing interesting to say. So now I have this blog that you faithfully read and I am humbly thankful for your faithfulness. It has brought some great friendship and hours of pleasure and has taught me  how to do many things on the computer  that I didn't know how to do before and I visited many of your homes. It has made me laugh and has made me cry. Many thanks...

So on that note I just took the bull by the horns today and JUST DID IT again by ordering a bolt of Dorr Mill Natural off white wool for dyeing.  It is being shipped tomorrow. I"m just thinking $$$, lots of it.  Not only a yard or two but a bolt. And for a second time today I JUST DID IT again. I joined April DeConick's Virtual Rug Camp Group on Palette Dyeing on Rug Hooking Daily. This is a huge commitment for me as I've been putting it off for about a year now. At least this is free. Thanks April for your generosity. This should be an interesting adventure for me.

 Another first for me, in mid January, I'm flying to Ottawa to be with my daughter who is expecting at the end of January and I need to buy my air line ticket. I was always accompanied when I flew before but this time I'll be by myself. It would be nice to have someone I know sitting beside me in the plane though. Don't worry, I won't pilot the plane, not this time any way. I'm very lucky that I live only several minutes from the airport. I can't wait to see my grandson. I pray for good weather for flying and also for the trip to the hospital.  The weather is so mixed up lately that I worry about traveling in the winter.

One good thing I learned today is that I will not have to buy another compression sleeve to fly as I can use the same one that I used when I flew to Scotland. That one cost me $125.00 around five years ago and I was told that I should have a fitting if I lost weight and had to fly. I lost weight but I grew muscles.  I had some lymph nodes removed from my armpit  in 2002 and to avoid getting a swollen arm for the rest of my life  I have to wear a compression sleeve  when I fly.  It's only a two hour flight. The compression sleeve was so tight that my arm looks like a big sausage when I wore it. Not very comfortable at all.

I'm not sure how long my stay in Ottawa will be but I don't want to overstay my welcome. I'm thinking a couple of weeks at the most. The baby may be two weeks early or two weeks late.  It depends on the circumstances but my husband think that I'll be there for a month. That's what he's telling his friends.  Humm... Is that wishful thinking on his part? lol...
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. Sorry, no pics this evening.  JB

JAN,2,2011 UPDATE ON CHILDHOOD MEMORIES RUG

I guess that I'm turning a new leaf but it's not my Hooking Bible yet. I actually worked on my rug today and got a small progress to show. I didn't removed the lint but you will see what I've been up to.

I managed to hook the swimmers after I had the flesh colored wool ready.


 I always keep a small burlap bag of onion skins with zippers that my basmati rice comes in. I used some vinegar as mordant this time because when I used salt last time, the color was a dirty grayish tinge and not suitable for flesh. I did this before going to work and hung the wool swatch up on a plastic hanger on the ceiling near a ceiling fan and the wood heat dried the swatch by the time I was ready to hook this evening.

Here is the swatch of flesh color dyed with onion skins.

Here is how much onion skin I needed to get this beautiful flesh color.

This photo was taken after the color was reabsorbed in the wool after the vinegar was added and simmered for 30 minutes.

Here is the girl (me) on a blanket looking at the cloud formation. This was hooked a few days ago. It was one of my favorite pass time as a young girl. I could see so many objects in the clouds.  Things are really getting crowded here on my rug. I may have to redraw the school house in red Sharpie. I'll think about it. I need to buy a red Sharpie.

Thanks for your visit. JB