Friday, February 24, 2012

What do I do all day you ask . . .

. . . so I'm going to drag you through one of my "normal" days . . . 



I have a to do list . . . The Dreaded To Do List . . . and my own weird way of working it.  I have listed all my chores I need to do and then added all the projects I am working on, setting aside 1/2 hour each day for each project.  You will see several of these projects as the day unfolds.  My rule is I can't move a chore or project forward on my list; it must stay on the day it should have been done.  So in effect today is November 1, 2011 IN MY WORLD.  I wonder how many days I'll be able to scratch off today?  

I read the Nov. 1 installment of A Tale of Two Cities through Daily Lit.

I finished step one of the November 1 2011 mystery knit-along dishcloth.



Learn to
Knit and Crochet
In a relaxing atmosphere
Individual or class instruction

At very reasonable rates.

Contact Pam at



I posted a movie review about a French-Canadian film I view and loved recently called C.R.A.Z.Y. 

I tidied my new giant kitchen (we recently moved into a much larger 2 bedroom apartment) . . . 


In our last apartment only one person could fit in the kitchen at a time, had tiny appliances . . . and you definitely couldn't fit a table in it.  I'm planning on buying a white pantry cupboard and getting rid of that pine shelving.  We'll start decorating and adding colour (I must have colour) after we've lived here a little while and we are sure how we want things.





My living room/dining room is now tidy.  Yes, my living room is pretty naked.  Hal and I are hoping to get a sofa and matching chairs and a dining room set for this space.  Tim and Krystel will inherit these old, but very comfy, chairs.   And then we will know how to decorate this room.  I'm really going to miss my comfy chair when it goes.

Don't tell Hal, but having a dining room table and kitchen table means even more people can scrapbook in my giant apartment . . . LOL . . .

It is now November 2, 2011 IN MY WORLD . . . and I just read the Nov. 2 installment of A Tale of Two Cities.

Here's Part 2 of the November 1st Mystery knit-along completed . . .



You can find these mystery knit-alongs at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MonthlyDishcloths/



This is my big craft space/office.  It is as tidy as it is going to get today because I have several projects on the go.  I've tried every angle and can't get a good photo that shows how big the room is.  Here I can create and relax all day.  The lovely old sofa bed is how I can still call this a guest room as well.  We are thinking of sending Tim the sofa and putting a futon on that wall instead.  I love that I can find all my stuff now instead of constantly searching through closets and tote boxes.  Everything is handy.  The only decorating I think I will do in here are some altered projects.



I just finished 3 more squares for this very funky granny square afghan.  I never thought I would ever do another granny square afghan because they do get boring after a while but I just couldn't resist this one.

Tidying the bathroom is pretty simple.  And its the only room that has any colour so far.



I really enjoy working on a counted cross stitch project.  Love all the colour in it.  Sadly it will probably end up in a case with all the other cross stitches I've done but can't afford to frame.

The beds have been stripped and remade and the bedroom tidied.  I tried to do some laundry but the dryer is broken.  

This little hallway joins the bathroom, bedroom and crop room.
There is room for a bookshelf or some kind of little table in here.
Not sure what I'm going to do there yet.



I published a blog post of all the scrapbooking I did in October 2011.

And now I'm off to do dishes.

I spent a half hour on another afghan I must must must make . . . It's called a Monet afghan.  Unfortunately the yarn I am using has been discontinued and I apparently didn't have enough.  I'm hoping that by the time it's finished the darker replacement yarn won't be too noticeable.


As many of you already know, I love making paper piecings and selling them online and at crops is my way to pay for my very expensive scrapbooking addiction.  Right now I'm working on Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse.  They are very popular and never last very long.  You can see my paper piecings at Pam's Paper Piecings.


I just finished part 4 of the mid-February 2012 KAL.



It is now November 3rd IN MY WORLD and I've just read another installment of A Tale of Two Cities before completing Part 3 of the November 1st Knit Along.


My only finished project today . . . The mid-February KAL!!  The name of this design is "In Celebration" and appeared in the breast cancer Calendar of Hope for 2010.


I was able to put in another 1/2 hour of stitching on my current counted cross stitch project . . . Edible Flowers.


I guess its time to start another mystery knit along dishcloth.  This is part 1 of the February 1st KAL.


It's time to get packed up for a scrapbooking crop at the local Salvation Army Church.  I'm looking forward to it.  I will be bringing copies of some of my books tomorrow, my Relay for Life donation jar . . . and tickets to sell for the Relay for Life Crop in April.  Hope I don't forget anything.


I'm about to make an adorable Valentine paper piecing but if you want to see it I guess you'll have to wait until tomorrow.

And that is how My Dreaded To Do List works . . . 

Scrapbook Layouts October 2011

http://pamspaperpiecings.blogspot.com/2012/01/fire-truck.html

http://pamspaperpiecings.blogspot.com/2012/01/hamburger.html

http://pamspaperpiecings.blogspot.com/2012/01/elephant-buddy.html

Pages for my 2011 All About Me Album

http://pamspaperpiecings.blogspot.com/2012/01/laundry-day.html

http://pamspaperpiecings.blogspot.com/2012/01/camera.html



http://pamspaperpiecings.blogspot.com/2012/02/birthday-girl.html



Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Hallowe'en 2011

It is so sad how far behind I am on my one blog post per day goal.  But I keep trudging along . . .

I love Hallowe'en.  I think that is one of the things I miss most now that I live in a controlled-entrance apartment building . . . all the little angels trick or treating.


My grandsons came to visit and I loved their costumes.  Taylor's was especially amazing.  The "artwork" was done at Dotsy's.






Monday, February 20, 2012

Lunch at Akita Sushi, St. Thomas ON

Please note that Akita Sushi is no longer open.  BUT.  A new restaurant just opened called Asuka Japanese on Talbot Street near the CASO station.  Please check them out frequently.  It would break my heart to lose another Japanese restaurant.  (August 2014)

I searched high and low and only found one other person who would try out the new Akita Sushi on Talbot St. in St. Thomas with me.  Judy and I made a date for lunch and today was the big day.  The menu is two full pages of delicious sushi-ness.  We decided to try as many things as we could by ordering small portions.  

Just a heads up, it says right on the menu that if you waste any food you will be charged full price for it . . . so it is a good idea to only try one or two of something until you are sure you will like it.  

We started off ordering white tuna sushi, California rolls, butterfly cheese, eggplant teriyaki, spicy seafood udon and miso soup.  I ordered green tea which was refilled several times over the meal and Judy had pop.

The white tuna sushi was lovely especially with a little wasabi.  We both really enjoyed it.


The California rolls were quite nice.  Nothing new or exciting but definitely well made and enjoyable.

Our young friend, Blithe, who just happened to be at a nearby table with her daddy, recommended the butterfly cheese, a fried won ton stuffed with a creamed cheese and served with a lovely dip.  We both really loved them and each ordered 2 more.

I'm not a fan of eggplant but Judy loves it so she ordered the eggplant teriyaki (sorry, no photo).  Her eyes nearly rolled back into her head because it was so delicious.  I even liked it and that really surprised me.

The spicy seafood udon (udon means thick noodle) was delicious and had great heat and flavour.  If I was to make a criticism it would be that the serving is too large.  Judy and I split the bowl and really liked it.

The miso soup was like a thick chicken broth with a little onion and tofu(?) and bok choy(?) in it.  Tasty but nothing exciting to say . . . just nice.




The dishes were very pretty and fun.  They were whisked away as quickly as we emptied them.  The service was quite amazing.  I don't think we were ever more than a few minutes waiting for anything. One suggestion here:  I wish they offered real flatware instead of plastic.  They do provide chopsticks.

Our next order was salmon sushi, rainbow roll, more butterfly cheese (as I already mentioned) and shrimp tempura.

The salmon sushi (not pictured) was a really treat for me.  Judy wasn't crazy about the salmon.  But Judy doesn't usually like salmon and I LOVE it.

The rainbow rolls were very nice, 2 topped with white tuna, 2 topped with salmon and 2 topped with another fish but I'm not sure what it was.

And then we tried the shrimp tempura.  We both nearly wept with joy.  The shrimp were massive and tender and nicely breaded and served with a lovely dip.  We each had two of these giant shrimp and they will be the very first thing we order next time.


While we were eating we continued to peruse the menu, making notes of what else we wanted to try.  Our next order was sushi pizza, shrimp tempura temike, deep fried dumpling and beef teriyaki don.

The shrimp tempura temike was really tasty.  The seaweed wrap was fried I think because it was very crisp and held its shape.  It was wrapped around rice, tempura shrimp and thin strips of veggies.  I loved the whole package with some added ginger.  Judy didn't like the wrap much but ate all the filling.


We split a bowl of beef teriyaki don.  It was a lovely bowl of rice with teriyaki sauce and tender slices of teriyaki beef on top.

I forgot to ask what was inside the deep fried dumpling but I think it was ground pork with a lovely drizzle of sauce.  If I'd ordered these earlier in the meal I think we would have ordered several more.

And then the sushi pizza arrived.  My photo didn't turn out which is sad because it was adorable.  It was like a rice cake that was deep fried and topped with a yummy sauce with just a bit of heat, onion and thin slices of salmon.  We tried it but felt the salmon just didn't fit.  We took the salmon off and ate the whole pizza.

We still had so many things we wanted to try but just couldn't stuff in another bite . . . except dessert of course . . .


Judy ordered the deep fried banana with chocolate and I ordered the green tea ice cream and split them between us.  Oh my goodness they were good!!!!!!!!  We will be leaving more room for dessert next time because there were more things to try.



I recommend Akita Sushi highly.  I think there are dishes on the menu that will even excite the non-sushi eaters in the family such as the rice bowls (don), soups, tempuras and teriyakis.  Lunch is $12.99 and Supper is $20.99.  Our drinks were included and we received a 10% discount to celebrate their grand opening.  I believe the discount ends at the end of February.

Judy and I will be going back again VERY SOON!!!!!