just in time ...

I got this one finished just in time!  

The pussy willows are from the cabin - they were 
plentiful and easy to find this year. 

Lizzie Kate

Time continues to fly by - expected it to move much slower with the lock down - spring weather isn't rushing to arrive. ^^

it never hurts to keep looking for sunshine

so ...

This one missed the previous photo shoot ...

Pond Life - Elizabeth Almond

So my bright idea of living off the pantry and freezer was misguided.  After two and a half months of it the pantry was nearly bare - not a problem when grocery stores were well stocked - a big problem when the panic buying left grocery shelves empty for a few weeks - the pantry is nicely restocked again.  ^^

The latest good news is that our province is allowing garden centres/greenhouses to open!  I'm excited that they have declared them an essential service - at this time of year and with the lockdown, gardening will be therapeutic and make us a bit more self sufficient - and perhaps keep people home. 

The not so good news is that our province just declared a lockdown until May 18 which includes the May long weekend - the first long weekend of the summer! 

Have you noticed that each day has been a National Day of something or other?  My favourite day so far was National Gorgeous Grandmothers Day!  ^^

happiness is not about getting all you want -

it is about enjoying all you have

busy work ...

I must admit that in the past six weeks there have been times when I've been a bit anxious.  To begin with it was concern for family members who are in the medical profession - a daughter-in-law who is a doctor and two granddaughters and a niece who are nurses - their well being is out of my hands so being anxious wasn't doing anyone any good.  On one occasion I was anxious about going for groceries - I armed myself with a bleach soaked rag for the grocery cart and a bottle of sanitizer for our hands - all went well.  ^^  
 Occasionally I find the news overwhelmingly dismal but can turn that off.  The one thing that occupies my mind and relaxes me is cross stitch - I have a few pieces to show you - to be quite honest I find the final finishing not nearly as relaxing as the stitching.  #bewellandstitch provided many free designs to stitch ...

 Happiness is Cross Stitching

The floral motif is for my stash and will make a nice card.  I took creative licence with the Lizzie Kate, Primitive Hare and Silver Creek Sampler designs by stitching the words and not the entire design.   All of these are freebies...

Kindness Always Matters - Silver Creek Samplers

Be Silly Be Honest Be Kind - Lizzie Kate

Flowers - Lucie Heaton

Everything will be fine - The Primitive Hare

Village Shelf -  Alex Kiss Cross Stitch

Chicken Love - the Real Housewives of Cross Stitch

the world is round

and the place that may seem like the end

may also be the beginning

a card ...

I made this card for a neighbour for Easter  - the envelope is made from gift wrap - the stitched piece was in my stash.  Her husband who turned 90 last autumn lives in long term care because of dementia.  She visits him every day.  During this pandemic she cannot visit him and she recently told me "visiting him is the highlight of my day" - she's feeling a bit lost - has no children nearby - can't visit relatives, friends, etc. because of social distancing - I daresay it's an especially lonely time for her.

sometimes all you need is a tighter hug

the cabin ...

Yesterday we went to the cabin for the first time this year - it was a beautiful warm, sunny day with no wind - look at that blue sky!!!  On the way there and back we saw the Easter Bunny.  ^^
No, we're not out of 'quarantine/isolation/distancing' here but we can go to the cabin and back without encountering another person - we're very fortunate.  

This is the Mossey River with pelicans at the top and a pair of geese at the bottom.  All the geese were in pairs ♥ and there were huge flocks of pelicans - always so nice to hear them and watch them flying.  The pelicans in this photo were interesting since two of them looked dirty, a couple of them were brilliantly white and the others were normal white - maybe their wardrobe is limited just now.  ^^

And this awesome sunrise was taken last week from our patio in town - we are so fortunate to witness the sunrise each morning.

you can start over each morning

the hummingbird ...

This beautiful design is from 'My Fanny Design' on Facebook - it was offered as a free design as part of 

#bewellandstitch  - many beautiful designs have been offered by many designers.

Accompanying this chart was the following story:

 It is said that one day a devastating fire broke out in the forest and all the animals escaped.
Suddenly the lion, king of the forest, saw a small hummingbird flying right in the direction of the fire. So worried, he tried to stop the bird to change direction, but the hummingbird replied he was going to put out the fire.
The lion, amazed, replied that it was impossible to put out the fire with the drop of water carrying in its beak.
So the hummingbird, increasingly decisive, paraphrased to the king of the forest:
I do my part, and that makes the difference. ''...

And so we, too,  all need to do our part and make a difference.

running behind ...

Easter - it's coming so quickly.  I made a few felt bunnies - I think my favourite is the chocolate bunny.  ^^  I've got them scattered here and there.  The morning glory piece is  a new one from Alita.

 Other than essential services everything here is closed for 14 days which includes Easter weekend - whether or not other services can re-open afterwards remains to be seen.  

there is always a reason to smile ...

find it

first ...

I made my first Pesto of the season on April 1 - no fooling.   ^^  Oh my it tasted good - only made a small amount since the basil plant isn't really big.

blindingly green, lol

Here's another look at my indoor garden - I'm calling it my Victory Garden.  ^^

  Cucumber with 8 wee cukes.

 Basil before it's trim for Pesto.

Red Robin tomato with 11 tomatoes.

Oh yes, Mother Nature returned a lot of snow to us - just when it had all disappeared she stepped in and played an April Fool joke on us - not appreciated Mother Nature.

sometimes when things are falling apart

they may actually be falling into place