It's all good... Oh and a giveaway...

A great big thank you hug to all the beautiful angels who sent loving gifts and kind words my way over the past month.

For those of you who haven't heard, and for those of you that know just a little, this is the event that had me off the air for a bit of time.

Mum and I, along with my gorgeous 4yo Bear, were off to town.  Funny though, there was a nagging voice inside saying 'don't go, you have plenty to do here'.  As I do from time to time, I just ignored that little voice.  Mum and I had an appointment in Armidale, so off we went in the rain. 

Our day out together had become a regular event every few weeks.  My Mum has some major health issues and I take her to a wonderful Muscle Neurology Therapist who is really helping Mum regain a bit of quality back into her life.  Bear looks forward to having a special lunch in the park and playing on the equipment.  So, except for the rain, it was a pretty normal day.

We were travelling on a road we had travelled on many times.  There is however, a particular spot where water streams across the road when it rain, running down from two separate driveways.  This is a country road, with properties lining it.  Somewhat different from a busy city road.  Anyway, on this particular bend, I had slowed down, but this day the water was running quite strongly and took the back tyres out, and I lost grip of the road.  The vehicle slid across the road, down the gully and began to roll, and roll, and roll.  My Mum was tossed around like a lifeless rag doll, and i thought the worst had happened.  Then I looked in the back to see my little Bear.  NO BEAR!!  and no noise.  Not a sound.  Words cannot describe that moment.

The first man to stop found Bear some minutes later about 30 metres away, in a creek, conscious by this time.  It became very obvious Bear had broken his Femur, the upper bone in his thigh.  Six weeks in hospital in traction.  Oh my.

Mum is fine.  A couple of broken ribs and severe soft tissue damage to her face and head.  Could have been so much worse.  And me, well, I am great.  My head has finally filtering all that has happened, and things are now wonderful.  I do not remember much of the last 5 weeks, but each day is great. 

We were very very fortunate.  We definitely had the angels looking after us.  My Darling and I were taking turns spending each night at the hospital, an hour away from home.  (It put a very big strain on all my plans for Christmas Club stitching and everything else.) Bear was permitted home a couple of weeks early.  He still had his huge splint on, and needed to be carried everywhere.  As I said we are all very fortunate, and grateful.  Life really is precious.

A huge thank you to the hospital staff of Armidale Hospital.  You are amazing!!!

So, once again, thank you to all the wonderful souls who have sent prayers and hugs in one form or another.  Words cannot explain the tears of joy you have brought to my heart.  Thank you.

NOW FOR A GIVEAWAY

Just because it is Christmas, and just because I can, and just to keep you popping in to say hello, as many times as you like, I am giving away a fantastic package.  If you would like to go into the drawer to win a set of patterns for Lynette's new A Kitten's Tale BOM, just stop by and say hi.  Share something wonderful about a family pet, or some other creature that you have shared an experience with, and you will be in the drawer.  I might have a couple of H & F pins   to giveaway too.

Now, I am going to spend some time with my family over the next week.  So, Honeysuckle Cottage will be closed until the 5th of January.  If I arrive back early, I will let you know.

All orders will be processed when I return.  The other exciting news, is I am going to give you all orders* made between December 25th 2008, and January 1, 2009 a 25% discount*.  Just another way to say thank you to you all.  As I said, they will all be processed when I return. 

Have fun ladies. 

Thank you for a wonderful year.  I am very excited about the year ahead with lots of new BOM's to announce, workshops and classes.  Very exciting for us here.

Have a wonderful Christmas all, be safe, laugh lots, and be kind to strangers. x x

*Discount does not apply to BOM's, discounted fabric packs, DMC threads or postage.  Discount will be applied at time of processing.

 

 

Comments

[Rita]

Glad to hear your little bear is on the mend. Our thoughts and prayers have been with you.
We have a cat that thinks she is a dog and a dog that thinks he's a cat! They both sleep in the laundry overnight - the cat sleeps in the dog kennel while the poor dog sleeps in the dirty washing basket amongst all the smelly socks!! They torment and tease each other all day long, but at the end of the day will curl up on someone's bed or the couch together, grooming each other. Lynette's Hugo and Felix remind me of my two so much. Would love to win the pattern.

[Sandy]

Oh Kim...what a time you have had...the rescue helicopter flew over our farm and landed at the oval in the village, after we had been listening to plenty of sirens, on Saturday morning. I stood on the verandah, with a very cold feeling spreading over me. It leaves me feeling oh so awful when i hear the sound of that helicopter. I am so pleased you and your family have managed to recover from your accident...these instances really make us all sit back and put things into perspective within our lives don't they?
I would love to be stitching up Lynettes Kitten quilt, and hope I'm not too late for the draw...Sandy

[Carin]

oooo oooo I will be 100 that is cool

my pet story lets see we have 4 cats but my dog is the one that catches mice. I love mt fur babys and have to stay away from anyplace that has a free kitten sight cause I always want to take them all home. My sister calls me the wierd cat lady

[Lise]

Happy new year! Keep on living under a lucky star! My pet story? We havn't got a pet now, but I had a horse 25 years ago and I will newer forget her. She was a pony with her own willing. One day she thought the trip had lasted long enough, she just lied down until we saied: Ok! We'll go home again! Then she was like an angel again. Noughty, but nice!

[Nemo]

Happy New Year!

We've had rats for pets for the past five years, and some of them have been very fascinated when BF or I have been working on something. Especially a couple of our rats who liked to climb up on my lap and stare at the quilt or stitchery I was working on, or steal the thread from the needle. I think one of them even enjoyed stealing BF's pencil when he was drawing. They might not be the most common pets around, but for us they are just perfect. :)

[The Chocolate Cat]

Oh my goodness what a terrible thing to experience, a reminder to us all to make the most of each and every day. So glad you are all going to be okay. Please count me in for your giveaway. My pets are my comfort, they are always there to give unconditional love, they can turn a bad day around to a good one in just a moment. I would be lost without Fred and Jimmy.

[Karen C]

Pets, with our two dogs by our side we saw in the new year, they are there with us all the time and give so much love, life wouldn't be the same without them - Go all pets - give your owners much love in 2009

[Juul :o)]

You where all só lucky, I hope your son's leg will be completly ok again.
It's difficult to tell an animalstory in English *Ü*, but I love your draw (thanks for this pre-fun), so I'll try, one of my cats can loosen screws and he loves DIY jobs and sits on top of the ladder to watch my DH doing DIY work.
He is totally NOT affraid of the drill and other loud machines.
This cat also loves hairdryers, everytime I föhn my hair dry, he also wants to feel some "wind" through his fur and comes running to me.
;o)
Happy (and lucky) New Year to All.
:o)

[phyllis oller]

Angels were with you that day,sometimes things like that happen for a reason,glad you are ok.
I had a dog when I was little who had 2 broken legs,on opposite sides too.He healed fine then,we were so grateful.
I found you thru the free stitchery blocks from Lynette Anderson`s blog.Is it too late to enter the giveaway?Blessings,phylliso

[SharonFeigl]

Hi Kim,
We had a lovely dog who used to tap onthe kitchen window to attract our attention. i alos miss his welcoming cries as we arrived home. Hope you had a good time with your family.
Sharon

[SharonFeigl]

Hi Kim,
We had a lovely dog who used to tap onthe kitchen window to attract our attention. i alos miss his welcoming cries as we arrived home. Hope you had a good time with your family.
Sharon

[mary]

My animal story is a little "ghosty"-our cat, Hansel, used to love to just hang out in our backyard, but this time he decided to go exploring! we were so worried, he was our black and white really clean house cat (weighing in at 22 pounds!) and he didnt know his way around. we put up fliers immediately-but we had no response. then i decided to pray to my grandmother who had died earlier that year-within a few minutes of that prayer, the phone rang, a neighbor found him hanging out under their bushes!!

thanks!

mary calton

[nataliejo]

Happy new year !! Keep up with your lovely blog :-)

[pat e.]

Hi, i probably posted to late
but i hope you and your family the best of the Year of 2009.
pat e

[Marianne Nesse]

Hello Kim,
I found my way here through Lynette's page - hinting about a wonderful giveaway :o) Wishing you a Happy New Year, and am glad to read that you are ok. Enjoy your holidays!

Marianne Nesse, Norway

[Deevena]

Glad everyone is ok. Hope you all have a great new year.

[Patricia]

Hoping you and your family are having a wounderful christmas day. We have three farm dogs but two baby calves are taking all of my attention at the moment demanding morning feeds each day. Wishing you the best for the comming year.

[Kristi Van Os]

I glad the Angels were on your side, and everyone is doing okay! My funny animal story has to be about my dog Dexter. We bought him from the organiztion SAFE, they rescue animals from animal control that have been there toooo long. When I was adopting him I asked if he had any of these bad habits - hopping over four foot fence, jumping on the bed, has likes cats, gets along well with other dogs. Number one and two are his bad habits. He gets to go on a lot of car rides. And pretty much sleeps in bed every night.

[ann s.]

Glad you are better now. We have a holy Birma who is five years old.His name is Jonatan. He hasn´t been really ill.

[Gwen]

Hi Kim,
I've just discovered your site through Lynette's. What an amazing miracle that your family survived such an awful wreck. I'm so glad you all are okay now. We had a lovely Christmas with all 3 kids home for the holidays and also 3 dogs and 2 cats. Winston, the Boston Terrier got a new coat which I made him out of a repurposed striped sweater. He and Rocky, the Boxer love to play tug-o-war together. They are great fun to watch! Blessings on you in the New Year!

[Vicki]

Love the Kitten's Tale BOM that you are giving away....wow.....how generous are you? I do love it..Oh did I say that before? I think what strikes me most about it is the colours in it and the overall design. Just fabulous. Also I am really glad you are all ok after your accident.

[SarahF]

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family Kim! I do hope 2009 brings better things!
Glad to hear that your family is now doing ok after that terrible accident.
Regards
Sarah
Oh and the pet story: I have a Minature Schnauzer and she is the most wonderful girl!! She never leaves our side, she is the most spoilt thing in our household lol!! A funny thing about her is that she LOVES 'The Big Bed' (which is our bed) and sometimes our visitors like to tease her by saying 'I am going on the Big Bed' while running through our home - she goes TOTALLY MENTAL!! Chases them, barking and generally going off!! It is SO funny to watch lol.

[Sandy H.]

Merry Christmas - belatedly - and Happy New Year!

Our three dogs are all rescue pups - Janis, our pit bull and senior lady of 14, was saved by our daughter from being being thrown in the river as a puppy of just a few weeks old. Our brother and sister Miniature Schnauzers - Weiner and Schnitzel - really rule the house. We do not know what we would do without any of them.

[JudyG]

I am very glad to hear that you are having a wonderful Christmas with your family, I'm sure you will value your time together and have many precious memories to keep. And amongst all that you have been through, you had time to make other hearts glad with the Christmas Club gifts! Thank you!
We had to leave our dog at home for a couple of days over Christmas,cared for but alone most of the time, so we gave her a huge bone. She now carries it around and drops it at our feet, I'm sure she is smiling!

[Casey]

Hi Kim, Well my funny story is about my kitten, she likes to swim in the bath occasionally I have put her in the pool but mum's not too happy about that. I adore her so much and couldn't imagine not having her. Have a great new year.

[sue H]

It must have been a very difficult time for you over the last few weeks. Great to hear that you are back on deck. I just love cats , we have 3 burmese cats, they think that they own the house and we just live there to serve them, but they are gorgeous and we wouldn't be without them.

[Robin C]

This is a wonderful pattern. I love everything that Lynette does. Because I have cats and love her little Felix, this is my favorite. Oh to win it would be divine!

Happy New Year!

[mama spark]

I just discovered your blog via Lynette's blog. It's wonderful!! Tomorrow, when I get a minute I will go and explore some more. (it's getting kind of late here and my kitty, Autumn keeps on telling me it is time for bed!!)
We have 5 cats and a dog. The dog made me realize that I really am more of a cat person, lol. We have one cat who's name is Jack. I took a photo of him sitting in a box on my cell phone and sent it to my daughters with the caption< "Hey girls look, it's Jack in a box!!"
Please enter me in your drawing. I really love this particular pattern of Lynettes.

[Cindy]

You are truly blessed to have come through such a terrible accident and know that everyone will mend. I hope you and your family have the Happiest and Healthiest New Year. As for my pets, I have had my cat 13 years and she has gone from an outdoor hunter to an absolute indoor baby. Every morning as soon as my alarm goes off she is waiting for me on my bed, she starts to meow and meow and will not stop until I scratch her belly, then she follows me down stairs and meows some more until I feed her, which I have to do before I even plug in the kettle for tea, or she will not stop. She is great company and loves to cuddle and climb on me, but only when I am trying to knit or read. Best Wishes To You and Yours!!!

[jil]

Hi Kim, glad to hear everyone is well, must have been very scary. I have a cat MJ 4 yrs old and A Jack Russell 10 months old both beautiful but both decide( on occasion ) to wee inside, the dog I can handle but the cat for some reason decides bags are the things to go for so obviously I have to be careful where I put my projects, at least I can laugh.

[Dee]

So glad to hear from you and that you are all on the road to recovery.

We have a little houdini budgie who my 4yr old named Freddie. He loves to escape no matter what we do to keep him in. I think he likes to keep us on our toes chasing him all over the countryside.

Best wishes. D. :=)

[Rosslyn Gale]

Hi Kim
What a lucky escape
Just found your site and love it Have added it to my favourites
Ros

[Kathy B]

Happy New Year 2009! My dog loves to ride in the car at top speed and stick her head out the moon roof. Her cheeks fill up with air and it puffs them out so round and cute! Silly dog...but I love her. She's the best! Here's to a fine 2009.

[Marie-Jozé]

It's great that everyone is getting better. And I don't have a petstory, because I work I don't have time for animals. :(
But I hope I still join your give away.

[char]

HI.......I want to tell you about my Toby cat that lets us live with him.....he only wants to be loved when he is ready and does so on my lap and kneads and kneads and purrs.
This morning we seen one of our cute squirrels get rolled by a car and he climbed into our glass jar that is a feeder for him, and just snuggled up there for about a hour and now he is gone..soo glad he was not killed...just frightened I suppose...anyways,,please draw my name.....
hugs, Char

[S Hunting]

It sometimes takes an event like that to do a reality check on what is most important in our lives - thank goodness that you are all ok and I hope that little Bear continues to improve... My pet story - we lost our beautiful Edith last May and we have shed many, many tears - she made our house a home with her unconditional love.. We have held off buying another kitty until a couple of weeks ago in the petshop across from where I work there she was ... I went and watched her in my tea break and at lunch time instead of buying a sandwich I bought MATILDA... She is bringing so much joy to our home...

[sharon]

I just came across your blog, I was very touched about your story. I can well imagine the heart-stopping fear of the moment! What a blessing you are all recovering. I recently lost my Stubby, a 11 year old blue & aussie shepard mix. He was so smart & it hurts so much to miss him. The neighbor's dog has started visiting & sucking me in. He has my husband already! But - he chases the cats!

[Julz at Simple Stitches]

Hi Kim, so glad that you and you're loved ones are recovering from that nasty accident. I hope that everything will be better for 2009, no more nasty surprises!
I found you through Lynette Anderson's blog which I enjoy very much. I think I will also be spending quite some time on yours too!

When I was very little, we always went camping for holidays, one year I remember we took our 2 cats with us. They spent quite a lot of time sleeping on the roof section of the "sleeping" part of the tent, they made a very big dent in it. They loved to go camping and fishing with us. If it was really hot (summer in Australia) one of them would even go for a swim. Ginger was quite a character.

Take care,
regards Julz

[chriss jasper]

Oh my goodness, weren't you all so lucky! That little inner voice......my thoughts and prayers are with you. If I happen to win your giveaway I shall make the quilt with you in mind and give it to our local hospital to raffle for much needed funds. Our local quilting group does this several times a year for this purpose and I cannot think of a better use for the giveaway!
May angles continue to watch over you. Chriss

[Chookasmum]

Hi Kim, so sorry to hear about your horrible accident, but pleased to know you are all on the mend now.
Animal story?, which one do I tell? OK, Tom, hubby's sheep dog was born just before we were married in 1970, I think that he fathered every sheep dog born in the district for many years, fortunately the other farmers were happy with that as they all got beautiful working dogs, one day Tom was not at the back gate ready for work, and I found him at the shearing shed nearly dead with tetnus, I took him into the vets,who said worst case he had ever seen and didn't hold out any hope, a couple of days later, the vet rang and said come and get this "bl--dy" dog I can't keep him in he keeps escaping. Tom lived for many more years and was a wonderful companion for our children and the best sheep dog ever.
Cheers,and have a happy health new year to you and yours from me and mine.

[Irma Jesop]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I had a dog named Pepper for almost 11 years. This past spring her kidneys started failing. She is missed very much. Sometimes when I come home from work, I still think she should be waiting for me and greet me with that wagging tail.

[wendy walters]

My cat loves xmas. From the time we put up the tree until we pull it down she claims her spot under the tree to sleep. We are not allowed to put any presents under it until xmas eve as she gets very upset. As soon as the presents are opened she claims her spot again.

[Christine]

So glad to hear you are okay after your very scary experience. Hope you had a nice Christmas.
I have two pets ... an 11 year old golden retriever called Molly and a 4 year old ginger and white cat called Oliver Henry. Molly thinks she is Olly's mother! When he was a kitten she developed milk which Olly was very willing to drink while purring very loudly ... a very funny sight.
I don't know if it's because he's always had Molly around to protect him but Olly is very sooky and scared of strangers ... animal and human. If another cat dares to venture into our yard, Molly woofs loudly and chases them to the fence .. no-one is going to hurt her Oliver!
All the best for the New Year.
Christine

[Julz]

Kim, I'm so glad to hear that everyone is now doing okay after the accident, I cannot begin to imagine the time you have had these past weeks. I want to share with you the story of our neighbour's big tough dog - well he's only tough in his own mind!!! Anyway we are owned by 3 cats, one of them being a big Ginger called Cougar. One day the dog decided to harrass Cougar, but alas the dog came off second best, with some nasty scratches.(no serious damage done apart from the dog's wounded pride!) It was a classic case of Cat- 1, Dog- 0. Needless to say the dog steers away from Cougar when their paths cross!!!

[sweetbabies00]

When our puppies were about 4 wks old, my husband went out of town and I looked in on the puppies and one of the puppies could not move his hind legs and was just pityful. I bought him inside for 5 days while my husband was gone, at first I knew we would have to put him down so I babied him and tried to make his last days happy. Poor thing, I cried on him all the time. But by the time my husband got home I had decided he was not in pain, I would do what i needed to do to make him comfortable; wheelchair, whatever. And about a week later, he started trying to move his legs and now at 10 weeks he is running everywhere. He is so precious! Good thing my husband was gone, or he would have put him down.

[marina]

I have popped over from Lynette's site and am sorry to hear about your accident, but glad to hear you are on the mend.
my furbabies are two curly coated retrievers and a 'princess' tortoiseshell cat. My two legged children always say I love the animals more than them. I just reply that as long as they know their places there shouldn't be an issue (lol).
I would love to be included in the draw for A kitten's tale. All the best.

[TRISH CLEMENTS]

I love your blog !!I would love to win your kitty give away. I have 15 of the little furry critters!!I am truly a cat person. Trish Clements Chesterfield, VA USA

[Debbie]

Glad to hear you are all ok. We have a cocker spaniel called Winston. Now Winston is a very naughty boy, if we have food left out he eats it when our backs are turned. One day I came home from work and it looked like he had tried to make us a cake, he had a bag of flour, gravy, packet soup mix,and various other packets, all chewed up on his mat.He is extremly naughty but we love him deerly.

[Terry]

I'm glad to hear things are improving for you all! We have several pets here...a cat named Kitty that we adopted from the neighbors when they didn't want him anymore, a hamster named Oreo, and three fish in our frog pond (named Orangey, Little Orangey and Whitey). Oh...and I almost forgot Frogalina, the frog that lives in the frog pond!! Merry Christmas! :0)

[Tina Dillon]

Hi Kim,
So sorry to hear of your recent accident - it must have been terrifying. Glad that things are slowly returning to normal for you. Hope you have time to relax and enjoy The Christmas celebrations. With all good wishes for a Joyous New Year.
Tina D.