June 28

Fairly quiet day. Worked a little on "O Canada" while I was at Sisters, but then napped in the afternoon. Spent some time gathering papers so I can do the end of the month bookkeeping and make sure that all the levels of government get their money. Talk about a make work project!

Today's poem needs a bit of explanation. A "lyke" is a corpse, a "wake" is a night vigil kept by it, a "whinny-muir" is a moor with thorny shrubs, "bane" is bone and "brig" is bridge.

A Lyke-Wake Dirge

This ae nighte, this ae nighte,
-- Every nighte and alle,
Fire and fleet and candle-lighte,
And Christe receive they saule.

When thou from hence away art past,
-- Every nighte and alle,
To Whinny-muir thou com'st at last;
And Christe receive thy saule.

If ever thou gavest hosen and shoon,
-- Every night and alle,
Sit thee down and put them on;
And Christe receive thy saule.

If hosen and shoon thou ne'er gav'st nane
-- Every nighte and alle,
The whinnes sall prick thee to the bare bane;
And Christe receive thy saule.

From Whinny-muir when thou may'st pass,
-- Every night and alle,
To Brig o'Dread thou com'st at last;
And Christe receive thy saule.

From Brig o'Dread when thou may'st pass,
-- Every nighte and alle,
To Purgatory fire thou com'st at last;
And Christe receive thy saule.

If ever thou gavest meat or drink,
-- Every nighte and alle,
The fire sall never make thee shrink;
And Christe receive thy saule.

If meat or drink thou ne'er gav'st nane,
-- Every nighte and alle,
The fire will burn thee to the bare bane;
And Christe receive thy saule.

This ae nighte, this ae nighte,
-- Every nighte and alle,
Fire and fleet and candle-lighte,
And Christe receive thy saule.

Anonymous

June 27

Spent part of the morning checking on various parcels and found out only one got stuck in the Canada Post strike - everyone else waited and will ship either later this week or after the long weekend. The "stuck" one is crafting supplies, so I hope it hasn't gone seriously astray.

Got picked up shortly after 1 pm by Michelle and Brian for our end of the monthy lunch and we ended up at Uncle Buck's. Had a Vietnamese noodle dish with BBQ pork and spring rolls. Very tasty.

Managed to get a few hours of stitching on my dogs. I will be showing updates starting on Friday. Hopefully there will be a difference that can be seen easily.

On Thursday I picked up some prints I had done for Sara, my little girl in El Salvador. I haven't gotten prints in years, so was curious what the cost would be. Well, the process can't be all that complicated as the 4 cost a vast $1.57, including tax!

Got to the library Friday afternoon and picked up Q, R and S of Sue Grafton's mystery alphabet. That only leaves me 2 to go, although I understand V will be out in the fall. There's a new Stephanie Plum out (#17) so I'll check for that as well.

My stitching is going well - I'll be showing updates starting on Friday. Once a month is going to be about right I think. Of course, any completions will be shown as they are finished.

My Love in Her Attire

My love in her attire doth show her wit,
It doth so well become her:
For every season she hath dressings fit,
For winter, spring, and summer.
No beauty she doth miss,
When all her robes are on;
But Beauty's self she is,
When all her robes are gone.

Anonymous

June 21

Got in some stitching time on "O Canada", but it was a bad night last night and I didn't get my nap, so I stopped when I realized I was starting to make counting mistakes. I can see progress though.

Not a very summer-like first day of summer, although by the end of the day the sun came out and the wind blew and it looked hopeful at least!

Care-Charmer Sleep, Son of the Sable Night

Care-charmer Sleep, son of the sable Night,
Brother to Death, in silent darkness born,
Relieve my languish, and restore the light;
With dark forgetting of my cares return.
And let the day be time enough to mourn
The shipwreck of my ill-adventured youth;
Let waking eyes suffice to wail their scorn
Without the torment of the night's untruth.
Cease, dreams, th' images of day-desires,
To model forth the passions of the morrow;
Never let rising sun approve you liars,
To add more grief to aggravate my sorrow.
Still let me sleep, embracing clouds in vain,
And never wake to feel the day's disdain.

Samuel Daniel
1562 - 1619

June 19

No stitch day today. My shoulder was feeling just a little sore, so I gave it a break. Means my Sunday project won't get worked on this week, but everything feels fine today, so it was the right decision.

Was a blah kind of day, so I ordered pizza! Not the best choice of suppers, but I hadn't done that in about 6 months, so I enjoyed it. Had a small beef taco pizza so had lots of fresh lettuce and tomatoes. Has to be healthy, right?? LOL

When Daffodils Begin to Peer

When daffodils begin to peer,
With heigh! the doxy, over the dale,
Why, then comes in the sweet o' the year;
For the red blood reigns in the winter's pale.

The white sheet bleaching on the hedge,
With heigh! the sweet birds, O, how they sing!
Doth set my pugging tooth on edge,
For a quart of ale is a dish for a king.

The lark, that tirra-lirra chants,
With heigh! with heigh! the thrush and the jay,
Are summer songs for me and my aunts,
While we lie tumbling in the hay.

William Shakespeare
1564 - 1616

18 June

Cancer Support lunch today and there was a large group of us - the Crest had to add more settings at our table. Had a new member as well which leaves us torn - it's great to have new people, but we wish there would never be a reason for someone to have to join us. It was a delicious lunch and lots of talk and laughter.

Then grocery shopping. For some reason that felt like a real chore yesterday, but I was home soon enough and had everything put away quickly.

After supper I had a lovely stitchy evening, so the day ended on a great note.

How like a Winter Hath My Absence Been

How like a winter hath my absence been
From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year!
What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen!
What old December's bareness everywhere!
And yet this time removed was summer's time.
The teeming autumn, big with rich increase,
Bearing the wanton burthen of the prime,
Like widowed wombs after their lords' decease;
Yet this abundant issue seemed to me
But hope of orphans and unfathered fruit;
For summer and his pleasures wait on thee,
And, thou away, the very birds are mute;
Or, if they sing, 'tis with so dull a cheer
That leaves look pale, dreading the winter's near.

William Shakespeare
1564 - 1616

Good craft night last night and made nice headway with both my Thursday projects.

Since Brass, nor Stone, nor Earth, nor Boundless Sea

Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea,
But sad mortality o'ersways their power,
How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea,
Whose action is no stronger than a flower?
O how shall summer's honey breath hold out
Against the wrackful siege of batt'ring days,
When rocks impregnable are not so stout,
Nor gates of steel so strong but time decays?
O fearful meditation, where alack,
Shall Time's best jewel from Time's chest lie hid?
Or what strong hand can hold his swift foot back,
Or who his spoil of beauty can forbid?
O none, unless this miracle have might,
That in black ink my love may still shine bright.

William Shakespeare
1564 - 1616

Another Sisters day. Thank goodness for naps! And I used to think getting up at 6 to be at work at 8 was hard. Mind you, I was much younger then. LOL! A whole 5 years ago.

Spring, the Sweet Spring

Spring, the sweet spring, is the year's pleasant king;
Then blooms each thing, then maids dance in a ring,
Cold doth not sting, the pretty birds do sing,
"Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!"

The palm and may make country houses gay,
Lambs frisk and play, the shepherds pipe all day,
And we hear aye birds tune this merry lay,
"Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo."

The fields breathe sweet, the daisies kiss our feet,
Young lovers meet, old wives a-sunning sit,
In every street these tunes our ears do greet,
"Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-wo!"
Spring, the sweet spring!

Thomas Nashe
1567 - 1601

Part 2

Well, I'm done stitching for the day, so I thought I would upload the picture now. My Wednesday piece is another Cross My Heart pattern Antique Wedding Sampler. The picture is a little difficult to see at the moment because it's colours like taupe, parchment and ecru on an ivory fabric. Hopefully there will be some clarity when I start getting the back stitch and long stitch in. I've been working on this on and off for several years (gulp) now and it just seems easier at the moment. I think in part because I've stitched so much I'm just that much more comfortable with the whole process.

I keep talking about my stitching rotation, so I thought I would show you what it is I'm working on. I have a different project for each day of the week.

This one is a patchwork by Catia Dias. It has 12 sections and I'm working on the border just before Section 7, which I will do next. This is my Saturday project.



This is a Sue Coleman design called Wolf. It's my Friday project.



These are two small projects just to make sure I have some completions as I go along to keep my determination up. The top one is a Bucilla kit - Bunny - and the bottom one is one of the freebies that comes with the British magazine The World of Cross Stitch - it's Mickey Mouse. These are my Thursday projects.



Don't have a picture of my Wednesday project right now. I haven't managed to work on it yet, but hopefully today and I'll post in my next blog.

This is a Sue Orton design called O Canada. It's my Tuesday project.



This is from a Cross Your Heart booklet called Moms and Pups and is my Monday project. It's very odd to have that eye looking at me as I stitch.

And this is my last one - Blaine Billman's Spirit of the Sockeye which I work on Sunday. Haven't gotten very far with it yet (working on black is very slow for me), but I think it will be striking when it's done.

I'm going to try and post a new picture every month just so I can see the progress. Only doing one day a week I don't always see what I've accomplished.

And I'm going to have to work out an 8th day as I will be joining (as soon as my supplies get here) a SAL with Evalina and Cindy to stitch a HAED design called Computer Catastrophes. I'm thinking of making it my Thursday project, but we shall see.

It's been trickier than I thought to get back into my stitch rotation - got in less than 2 hours yesterday, but I'm sure I'll get there. Hopefully today will be better.

Slow, Slow, Fresh Fount, Keep Time with My Salt Tears

Slow, slow, fresh fount, keep time with my salt tears;
Yet slower yet, oh faintly gentle springs:
List to the heavy part the music bears,
"Woe weeps out her division when she sings."
Droop herbs and flowers;
Fall grief in showers;
"Our beauties are not ours":
Like melting snow upon some craggy hill,
Drop, drop, drop, drop,
Since nature's pride is, now, a withered daffodil.

Ben Jonson
1572 - 1637

Well, since yesterday's blog worked properly, I'm going to try a poem today and see if the line breaks show up where they are supposed to.

The Lark Now Leaves His Watery Nest

The lark now leaves his watery nest,
And climbing, shakes his dewy wings;
He takes this window for the east,
And to implore your light, he sings,
Awake, awake, the morn will never rise,
Till she can dress her beauty at your eyes.

The merchant bows unto the seaman's star,
The ploughman from the sun his season takes;
But still the lover wonders what they are,
Who look for day before his mistress wakes.
Awake, awake, break through your veils of lawn,
Then draw your curtains, and begin the dawn.

Sir William Davenant
1606 - 16668

Finally, my computer is working properly again (I think), so I thought I would show off my latest cross stitch finishes. This first one a friend commissioned for her first grandchild. It's a Stoney Creek pattern and was a fun stitch except when I miscounted and had to pull out the entire right hand side multi-coloured border. That's what happens when you try to do "just a few more stitches" and you're tired! Sandy is very happy with it though and that's what counts.



This one is another hooded bath towel. One of the ladies who is a member at Sisters (where I work) asked if I would do it for her first grandchild. It's the pattern that came with the towel. Another fun stitch but the top is a bit tricky as there is not much maneuvering room.



Now that the requested pieces are done, I'm back to working on my rotation of large pieces. I have a different one for each day of the week to keep me from getting discouraged and each piece grows a little. I'm thinking I may start posting monthly updates - motivation for me and it will be easier to see the difference a month makes.

Been reading, of course. I finished the Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich and I'm now working my way through Sue Grafton's alphabet mysteries. I'm on "N is for Noose" at the moment. The series goes up to U right now, although I understand V is coming out this fall. I should be ready for it by then! LOL

Weather is still a whole lot cooler than it should be, but at least we are seeing sunshine, so I guess it's an okay trade off.

Lost 5.5 lbs this month. That makes a total of 29! YEAH!