Sunday’s Stitches & Stuff – Episode 8

This week was busy, productive and peaceful. Despite the non-stop rain, the animals still got plenty of attention and exercise, using my kitchen as an indoor play yard. The house is clean and still standing, so that’s a bonus. Also, I’ve been getting around to a few house projects that laid on the back burner for far too long. Now that the weather is getting nicer, I will have plenty to do outside, until it gets too hot, then I’ll switch back to inside projects and the joys of air conditioning. Other than a few errands that needed running, this week was fairly quiet, which means I had plenty of time for stitching and reading! So here’s my week…

What I’m Stitching

This week I am working on my Happily Ever After SAL, I really want to “catch up” on this one, so I am going to keep working on this for the time being. Currently, I am working on the month of March and the story of Three Billy Goats Gruff. Then I need to move on to April and May which are Around the World in 80 Days and Robin Hood, respectively.
Here is my starting point:

Here is my progress so far as of Sunday night:

Over the past two weeks, I’ve been lucky enough to have time in the morning to stitch (my sit, sip, & stitch time) and time in the evening to stitch. Lucky me! Hoping that this continues, I’ve decided to try to work on two projects at the same time. The morning will be set aside to work on Happily Ever After, but then in the evening, I’m going to work on the Year of Celebrations series, published by Cross Stitch & Needlework Magazine and designed by Cathy Habermas.

This was one of the projects that I picked out for my rotation this year, and even though I won’t consider it completely done until all 12 months are stitched, it gives me a sense of accomplishment every time I finish a month. So far I’ve completed February and March, but I really would like to be able to display the current month. April and May are kitted up and ready to go, so I’m going to start stitching those in the evenings. Here are some pictures of the completed February and March designs:

What I’m Reading

Behind Her Eyes

It took me 4 days to read this book, partly because I wanted to have it done in time for book club, but also because it was a good read. While the story development can feel a little stop & go, the whole book is worth reading for the last twenty pages. If you like you can check out my very brief review here.

 

Roast Mortem

This is the latest installment of the Coffeehouse Mystery series that I’ve been reading. When I say latest I mean latest to me, this is actually book 9 of 16, with the latest just published this year. The whole series so far has been a joy, I’ve been borrowing them digitally and reading them on my Kindle which tells me that I am 50% through the book. I’ve set a deadline to have it finished by Monday evening so if I meet that deadline you should see a brief review pop up shortly after.

The Paying Guests

This is my current audiobook; I started listening to audiobooks when my work schedule changed in April and I started spending a lot more time in the car; I discovered that audio books are a great way to pass the time. So far this book is very entertaining, part of that is due to the performance by the narrator, and well written. As of end of day Friday I was on Chapter 4 of 17, and I am very curious to see where the story goes from here, so I guess that means I have to go to work this week.

What I’m Watching

Right now I’m binge watching my way through Bones, I was up visiting family not too long ago and my sister and her husband were watching Bones, which I haven’t watched since season three, and I got interested in the series again. Currently, I’m at the beginning of season 11, so I shouldn’t have that much further to go before I finish.

I’m also getting caught up on the current season of Doctor Who and watching The Amazing Race on CBS every Thursday evening. However, I am very excited for this coming Tuesday night when World of Dance premieres, and then June 12th when American Ninja Warrior starts.

Highlights

One highlight from this week is that I have joined the Happy Planner family and have gotten myself a mini Happy Planner. So far I am really in love with it, I love technology, but I also need the tactile sensation of pen and paper to help keep me focused and on task. So I am hoping that my Happy Planner can supplement my digital calendar, lists, and notes. Also, decorating and designing the layouts is so much fun! Here’s some pictures of my first layouts:

Thanks for reading and have a great week!