Marlee, my bichon and I took a walk through the English Garden at our local city park...what a revelation of God's handiwork! Many of the vegetation had frozen but there were still wonderful colors to be seen.

Please check out more wonderful photography here:

http://home.att.net/~hideaway_today/t083/fall.htm

BIBLE VERSE: "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."Psalm 16:11

Quilt Show - Mystery Quilt Completed

These photos above were assembled in the 'Mystery Quilt Project' 2007 sponsored by "Quilting by Design" here in Winnipeg, Manitoba and I am very proud to say MINE is COMPLETE...alas I never even had photo taken of mine yet. I just have to hand stitch the binding, then I will photo and enter later...please come back later.

Here are photos of other quilts 'in assembly'.

This was a FUN project, especially if one can complete their quilt. It is very frustrating if these WIP's are just forgotten!

SAYINGS:

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One yard of fabric is like having one cook - it's never enough.
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Quilts are like friends - they age with you, yet never lose their worth.
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Quilting is my passion...chocolate comes in a close second.
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Happy Thanksgiving

Even though it looks dreary and cold outside, Canadians will be celebrating Thanksgiving Day. Let us all reflect on the many reasons to be thankful.

Since 1879 when Parliament instituted Thanksgiving and observed originally on November 6th. Then in 1957, the date was set to be the second week of October (in Canada). Other countries, including the USA celebrate their Thansgiving on a different date.

Let us all be THANKFUL.

COUNT YOUR MANY BLESSINGS
NAME THEM ONE BY ONE
EXPRESSING LOVE TO OTHERS
AS THE DAY IS DONE.
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COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS
During this special time of year, let’s take a moment and count our blessings.
If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep--- you are richer than 75 per cent of this world.
If you have money in the bank, in your wallet and spare change in a dish--- you are among the top 8 per cent of the worlds wealthy.
If you woke up this morning with more health than illness---you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.
If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture or the pangs of starvation---you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.
If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.
If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful---you are blessed because the majority can but most do not.
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QUOTATIONS:

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." Author: Melody Beattie
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Look at what we have, not at what we don't have. Lord teach me where I need your touch the most.
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Pick stars and name then for all things you are thankful for.

CORSET ATC (ALTERED TRADING CARDS)

I am so very excited. I was just surfing on Google and found the neatest pattern to create these Corset shaped ATC'S...aren't these sweet?
Hopefully I have included the link properly to check out the free pattern offered by 'Puppylov' Flikr site.

...thank you 'Puppylov' for sharing. LINK:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/puppyluv8805/2720336540/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/puppyluv8805/2720336540/in/photostream/

The Story of the Butterfly

The Story of The Butterfly

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as struggled to squeeze its body through the tiny hole. Then it stopped, as if it couldn't go further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bits of cocoon. The butterfly emerged easily but it had a swollen body and shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch, expecting that any minute the wings would enlarge and expand enough to s upport the body. Neither happened! In fact the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around. It was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand: The restricting cocoon and the struggle required by the butterfly to get through the opening was a way of forcing the fluid from the body into the wings so that it would be ready for flight once that was achieved.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. Going through life with no obstacles would cripple us. We will not be strong as we could have been and we would never fly.

Butterfly stay with me....

QUOTATION:

Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

When this butterfly visited my garden, I felt as though God reached down from heaven and 'touched' me. The butterfly even waited for me while I rushed into the house to retrieve my camera...I was also able to take several photos of this awesome insect. It seemed like the butterfly wanted to relate it's 'patience' with me.

Seeing this gentle insect flutter from flower to flower reminded me of a very sad story a lady I met in the store told me. The lady had lost her daughter, however had felt a similar feeling when a butterfly flew into her sun room shortly after her daughter's passing. Now a year later, the lady was telling me how close she felt to her daughter when the butterfly was near. Now the lady was buying some butterflies made out of feathers to give to her lady friends.

I also recall another day when a butterfly landed on a plant. I was feeling particularly SAD that day. However seeing that beautiful butterfly alight gently on the plant in front of me brought me a certain 'stillness' or feeling of peace. As though God was indeed telling me to cheer up. Has anyone else experienced such a surreal 'visit'?

Amber Lace - A Cloth Doll Completed

Two ladies in my craft group made this doll recently so I finally completed my version. She is a stuffed cloth 'beauty'. I painted her face Saturday afternoon while I lazed in my gazebo enjoying the sunshine. Using mainly recycled materials for the doll including a vintage doily for her collar, I had fun embellishing my project with different items I have in my 'stash'.

My completed doll is not as fancy as the picture illustrated in the magazine article, however she is my version of Amber Lace, a Victorian cloth doll bust. I think I will complete the body if I make another one like this doll as I am wondering what I am going to do with her now. Please comment.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"Together we create tomorrow's heirlooms."