New day, new month, new year, new challenges, new outlook

I was more than pleased to receive all these wonderful books for Christmas from my loving family.

Two great sources of quilting designs for finishing all those great tops.  2 awe inspiring magazines of pieced tops from most of my favorite designers.  And the grand daddy of all reference books....The Quilter's Catalog...an encyclopedia of history, biographies and tips galore as well as a few gorgeous project plans.

So much to learn and try...so little time & space.  Well...I can remedy one of those - stay tuned for details as they develop!

Wii'ing towards 2010

That's my goal...we got the Wii Fit Plus software and have been putting it to good use since last week.  There's only one way to say this...direct...like pulling the bandage off in one swift movement...our grandkids had to show us where the really fun games were!!!!

They were hooting and laughing so hard at the snowball fight game....guess who...me...was being pummeled with snowballs!  They kept switching off between the 2 of them so it was a while before I had a chance for sweet revenge.  Alex was nice enough to coach me through the first round.  It is fun.  I also like the cycling challenge for some unknown reason...I don't care for running in place but the stepping motion was quite nice.

 Another cool one that I like but am not good at yet is the Segway circuit...I seem to lean forward to the point of stepping off the balance board!  Gee...I'm not competitive am I?

But it's all fun and gets me off the bench!  I can't catch up on my blogging friends until I've done some level of activity in the morning so that's good motivation.  If anyone else has this, perhaps you could give me a few pointers or at least let me know how you are doing!

I won't be posting until January, so enjoy the remainder of 2009.  Have a very Happy New Year!  Please drink responsibly and don't drive if you've had a few...I want everyone to be safe!

Merry Christmas to All!

Wishing you a happy and safe holiday spent with family and friends!

Curled up with a down throw and a good book

It's warmer today, minus 29 but it's still so very draining.  This morning I was tempted to pull my warm clothes on over my flannel pj's!  I didn't but I did set a new personal record getting dressed.

I haven't been crafting, stitching or sewing this past week.  No...I thought I should paint the kitchen right before Christmas!! DUH!  Joe helped me clean off the ledge over our cupboards...you know the one under the cathedral ceilings.  I had an old fashion display of things that were important at the time.

You know where this is going...some got released because I'm a different person now.  Others may get passed along...I have a teapot, cream and sugar set from Sadler.  It's black with gold edging and research shows it dates back to the 1930's.  That will be wrapped and passed along.  Not sure what all is going back up there, but I'm liking the clean uncluttered look.

I'll post photos once I get myself out of this mess I'm painting myself into!!!!  Stay warm everyone.

This says it all!

Straight from the source HERE

Active Weather Information

After a weak warm up at the end of last week, Prairie temperatures plummeted again over the weekend reaching an all-time low in Edmonton.

At one point on Saturday night, Edmonton had the dubious distinction of being the coldest place on Earth. The record low temperature of -46 degrees was measured at the Edmonton International Airport. With the Wind Chill, it felt colder than -50. The city itself was a balmy -35 degrees before factoring the Wind Chill.
Edmonton's frigid temperature was exceeded by a station in Siberia where the lowest temperature measured on Saturday night was -48 degrees. Edmonton's -46 degrees was 2 degrees off the coldest temperature ever recorded for the Airport. Set back on January 26, 1972, the coldest temperature recorded is -48.3 degrees. Saturday also saw the coldest low ever recorded at the Airport in December. Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights also saw record low temperatures for Edmonton Airport.
Temperatures will continue to be frigid for the next couple of days before warming up mid-week. On Thursday, Edmonton is currently expected to reach a high of 2 degrees!

Fertilizer Friday Dec 11/09

A first for me!

Tootsie runs this and on such a cold winter day, it goes a long way warming my spirit. I don't have bulbs forcing into bloom, or beautiful cactus flowers.  I do however have a lovely memory of tulips gone past. 

These were White Dream  Triumph Tulips that were stunning in front of my ferns.  This lasted for 3 weeks, a clean pure white in the shade of the green fronds.  Stunning, don't you think?Today as the sun rises, my garden is asleep in this deep freeze of -20'C.  Tomorrow we'll begin the slip into the -31'C zone.  A winter wonderland I will appreciate from into the warmth of our home.  

I love reading your garden posts, so much inspiration and joy. Happy weekend.