Not A Good Thursday

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have a part time job - I man the desk (or is that woman the desk, to be horribly PC, which I'm not) at a workout business called Sisters - women only obviously. I quite enjoy it except for the fact that we open at 6 a.m., so I have to be up at 4 to be there by 5:45 so I can have everything ready when the first ladies arrive at 6. And yes, there really are women  - a lot of them - that show up that early to work out!

Not being a true morning person (my opinion is that if we were a truly civilised society, nothing would start before 10) I'm not at my best these mornings, so you can imagine my reaction when I arrived and found this:

Have no idea exactly how it was broken as there was no rock or brick or anything else on the inside - just a large amount of shattered glass everywhere.

I didn't think to take a picture before I had cleaned up most of it - was over the whole bench, the floor and even the treadmills which are behind me as I take this picture.

So, even before I was dealing with clients, I had to phone the R.C.M.P. (who think there may have been a fight and somebody got thrown against the window, HARD), text my boss who was out of town and talk to the insurance,company where I found out the window isn't covered under our insurance because we don't own the building, so that meant tracking down the landlord. He didn't show up until 3 p.m., then the glass company arrived about 20 minutes later, just as I was leaving.

It was a cold, rainy, miserable day and I almost froze as I sat there for those 9 hours - thank goodness for electric blankets and cats that like to snuggle when I got home. I was NOT a happy camper. On the plus side, the clients rather liked all that fresh, wet air that was blowing in - nobody needed the fans on, which is something they always ask for as they get too hot while exercising. Got to be a silver lining, right?

WIP Wednesday 10 June 2015

Got in a few good hours on the Wedding Sampler this week. This is where I left it a week ago.

And this is where I left it last night.

And you're probably going "Okay, you filled in the rest of the heart but that took hours?". Nope, that wasn't the time eater. Here's a close up of the corner.

Can you see them? All those honeycomb looking stitches around the flower and the head of the bird? They cover the entire background of the sampler except for the alphabet and personalisation boxes. It's ecru thread on ivory fabric and there is a LOT of counting so it's slow going.

However, I will take a slight break from that and do the back stitching on the flower, then finish the honeycomb around the bird so I can back stitch that. It's all progress, right?

WIP Wednesday 3 June 205

Got a few more stitches in the Wedding Sampler. This is where I was last Wednesday.

This is where I am today.

Slowly, slowly, but it's coming.

I Survived!

Well, I did it! Met my goals and didn't wimp out. (Warning, this is LONG!)

Stats are: 12 hours, 30 circuits of the track (1/4 mile per circuit = 7.5 miles), 34,368 steps. I am SO sore today - if I could I wouldn't move at all.

The weather co-operated beautifully - lovely and sunny with a cool breeze so it didn't get too hot.

Everything started at the registration tent

which was also the beginning/end of each circuit. When I checked in I was given a survivor shirt

a name tag

and a long thin loop of plastic thread to wear around my neck. More about that later.

At 10 a.m. was the survivors' walk - the opening circuit. We were led by 2 R.C.M.P. officers in full dress red serge and as we passed all the tents we got cheered and applauded. It was quite something to experience. Then the regular walking started. I walked a lot with with another member of my team, the Amazons. Lori has just finished her first year cancer free - still undergoing breast reconstruction - so it was pretty emotional for her.

I picked up a patch that I am going to put on one of my vests.

There was a stage set up

and there was upbeat music all day - sometimes live bands or singers, sometimes canned, but it really kept us going.

At lunch, 2 of the tents started to do barbecue - hamburgers, hot dogs, beef on a bun - all for a nominal price that was given back to the relay when they were done.

CityWest (our telephone/internet provider)

Overwaitea, a local grocery store.

And we walked the afternoon away. There were some challenges for people to have their heads shaved, but mostly we just walked. Then at supper time one of the local food trucks showed up, again all their profits going back to the relay.

About 9:15 p.m. they started to announce prize winners, which teams had raised the most money, etc.

I won a water bottle.

Our team got an honourable mention in money raising.

We were really pleased - we only had 5 members and we raised $1140.

Oh, remember the loop of plastic I mentioned? Well, every time you completed a circuit you "earned" a bead to put on it.

This was mine by the end. There was a prize given to the person with the most beads. The lady who won - a bicycle - had walked 93 circuits, 23.25 miles.

Then the final walk at 10 p.m. was the memorial walk. The track was lined with paper bags containing candles and on the outside the names of people who had lost their fight. We all walked around, read the names and grieved. It was an incredible circuit - there were 300+ people on the track and there wasn't a sound except for our feet hitting the dirt. Not one picture was taken - everyone was fully in the moment.

There were lots of tents, each one had a team on the track.

My team tent.

The survivors tent - lots of snacks and drinks.

Royal Bank of Canada. That's a cheque for $3,000 sitting on the grass.

Fight Like A Girl tent.

Jazzy Dragons - a dragon boat team.

Choices for Healthy Living.

The Lutheran church.

All in all, an exhausting, emotional, uplifting day. And I plan to do it all over again next year!

Yikes! What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

Tomorrow is the breast cancer Relay For Life and I signed up to be one of the team of ladies from our Women's Cancer Support Group. It runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and we walk the track at the Middle School. I have no idea how long or how far I can walk, but I guess I'll find out. The first lap is for survivors and the last one is when the luminary candles are lit in memory of those we've lost and we walk passed/through them. In between, we just walk, along with family, friends and supporters. One thing I know for sure, Sunday I probably won't be able to move! Assuming I'm not as stiff as I fear, I'll tell you how it went.

WIP Wednesday 27 May 2015

Again, not a lot of stitching time, but some progress on my Wedding Sampler. Left it here last week:

and stopped here last night (or technically very early this morning!).

The blue border goes all around the outside of the piece and then there will be an Algerian Eye border outside of that. Once I get the side down to the Q-snap, I'll see what else I can fill in before I shift it over to the right and start working on that bird.

WIP Wednesday 20 May 2015

I actually have something to show this week! I've been working on the Wedding Sampler. Here is the picture of the area I was going to stitch on.

Here's what I have done.

Remember I commented that hopefully the satin stitch and long stitch would go faster? HAH! That definitely goes under the "don't make me laugh" category. I am pleased with my progress though and think the bird looks much better now that he is getting a full tail.