An exchange, a move, a hotel and a hurricane!

Well, I am writing this on All Hallows' Eve and a damp and dreary one it is too in Michigan!  However, we are fortunate here since most of the east coast is recovering from the great devastation of Hurricane Sandy combined with a wintry nor'easter, a lethal combination.  Although the coast received most of the damage the effects of Sandy were felt into Pennsylvania and even Lake Michigan where record wave heights of 20 feet or more were reached, a good few hundred miles from the coast!

Although we were fortunate not to be in the path of the storm, all the wordly goods (well, apart from a few stitching supplies and my Lowery) of the WT and the long suffering Mrs WT were!  The container had been offloaded in New York about 24 hours before Mayor Bloomberg declared a state of emergency!  Lives are far more important, and all will be well.

We've been in the US for three weeks now and hotel life is beginning to pall ever so slightly.  I could get used to having my bed made every day and clean towels as if by magic but really, two electric burners and no oven?  We managed to set the smoke alarm off on the second night cooking pork chops so fish and soup are now mostly on the menu, having bought a frying pan and a slow cooker!  My big soup pot came over in the air shipment so tonight it is lentil and sweet potato!

I had such grand ideas for stitching every day but somehow the day vanishes and not much is accomplished.  Of course, signing up for an Autumn exchange was not the smartest idea I have ever had and many thanks to my good friend, Liz, over in Oz who was VERY patient!  Her parcel arrived about a week after we did and oh my goodness, just look at this! 

Friendly Stitchers' Autumn Exchange
A Needlebook from Liz in Oz
"A Fallen Leaf is Summer's Wave Goodbye"
and dedicated to the Enabling Queen of Friendly Stitchers
whoever CAN she mean?

You can see how small and perfect it is - that is a quarter on one side and two-pence piece on the other!  Thank you, dear Liz!  Apologies though for the "studio" where this was shot - dreadful and even worse, can't remember where it was!  My parcel to Liz finally went off, what a relief!

Another relief was finally settling down to stitch on this gorgeous piece, no, not mine, sadly but the Round Robin piece chosen by Judy in Minnesota.  I debated whether to say the dog had eaten it...... it got left behind in Cheshire...... removed as dangerous by the TSA, as I really, really wanted to keep it but reluctantly decided that it had to go.....onto Oregon and Lynda! I stitched the two urns above and to the right of P and K - which happen to be the WT's initials so had to stitch them too!

The Language of Flowers
Rosewood Manor
Friendly Stitchers' Round Robin Exchange

The move went well and at the speed of light in the end.  We had known since the spring that moving back was going to happen but in usual corporate style no date was given which made for a rather unsettled summer!  Long story short, since the WT had a business trip over to Michigan in August I accompanied him and we went house hunting, found one and made an offer, all without knowing for sure that the move was happening!  All was slightly tense until a week before the WT was scheduled to leave for a symposium in Vancouver - the offer arrived!  An estimate was made for the packing up and shipping of the aforementioned wordly goods, I cheerily waved goodbye to the breadwinner and then had a lovely weekend with Mouse who came to kit up lots of stitching for me!  The movers moved in for four days, lol, on the Monday, the container was sealed on the Thursday and went off up the lane and I flew out on the Saturday......quite a fortnight!

Ian finishing up in my stitching room!
 

We're back in the same area of Michigan but in a different small town, which boasts a coffee shop and a yarn shop, next door to each other!  Not only that but I've joined the ladies there on a Friday to knit and knatter so the withdrawal symptoms from the Friday group in Cheshire aren't too violent!
I've also slipped back into Wednesday nights at Stitching Bits and Bobs and also rejoined EGA, so although one of us didn't want to come back, lol, life isn't so bad!

Looking towards the lake from the garden

The view from the kitchen

The house is smaller than the barn but the view is gorgeous, overlooking the lake!  Upstairs is a loft/gallery which also looks out to the lake and will be a perfect place for the Lowery, some stitching and me!  Now I really am a British lady by the lake!

Well dears, I hope I find you cheerful, smiling and stitching?  Thank you for reading and thank you even more for leaving me a comment!  You know how I love them!

Love from,