nope nope nope

still can't post photos for some reason
It looks like the process works, but nothing shows up.

Enough.

Happy New Year everyone!

Tonight I'm making some Spanish food for the family. I have an authentic tortilla recipe from Spanish friends. I googled on line and came up with a pork cutlet recipe, a spinach recipe, and an orange cake.

Tomorrow is a traditional roast chicken dinner.

Ah my Mistake

It's been pointed out to me that there is more than one thing called "remember the ladies." I am referring to the Kreinik kit called "Abigail's Wisdom." Which is what I was stitching on Friday.

Yesterday I joined some friends, old and new, from RCTN for a little shopping at the Stitching Post in Baltimore. New additions to the stash are:

two pieces of weaver's cloth for punch needle
a fat quarter of 32 ct Glenshee
a short piece of linen banding with evergreen trees woven into the edging
a very small frame for my current silk gauze project
a Stitch and Zip needlepoint purse kit - which I already started -
purpose to hold my new Nintendo DS Lite
The Workbasket's "A Stitch in Time" with the saying "a stitch in time saves my mind"
Little House Needleworks - "Ye Olde Coffee House"
and
By the Bay Needleart's - "White Pumpkin Patch"

We had a lovely time and terrific lunch at the Candlelight Inn.

Two Days in a Row

I stitched more on my kitty face yesterday. I was cruising right along and then suddenly it was nearly making me blind. But I can finish this. Sometime soon even. Now if I can just get blogger to let me post photos again.

After the near blinding I moved on to another UFO - the Kreinik kit of "remember the ladies." When I started this, I was burnt out on over one stitching and decided to stitch the yellow tulips without the tent stitch over one, but just using regular crosses. The next time I picked it up, I decided there wasn't enough variation between the shades of yellow and frogged the cross stitches and started the tent stitch. Of course, that's where I left it. So now one tulip has the tent stitch interior that was the original design. I'm not looking forward to the over one writing in the middle of this. There's so much of it. I'll have to check my old stitching journal to see what fabric this is. I'm pretty sure I'm using some 32ct. I know a few others who have this as a UFO. Maybe I can convince them to stitch along with me. Anyone here need to finish this?

Actual Stitching

Yesterday afternoon after policing up all the paper recycling and putting away the wrapping stuff that needs saving for future use, I actual sat down to stitch.

What I picked up is my Kreinik kit of the black and white kitty face on 40ct silk gauze. It took me nearly 1/2 an hour to figure out exactly where I had left off on this. All those shades of gray and black. But I did find my ending point eventually and stitched while beginning supper. (Artichokes and linguine with shrimpies. Yum.) Now the face of my possessed little kitty is staring at me. I'd do the eyes, but then I'm afraid I'd really be creeped out, so I'm saving those for last.

re: Stitch Bitch comment

I've been trying like heck to post a comment on your blog and it keeps telling me that I'm using the wrong password. Which is funny, 'cause it's the same password that let's me sign in here to begin with. Oh well. Just more screwing up on the part of blogger/google/mozzilla.

So here it is for the Stitch Bitch:

Would you believe that for the past month, every time I clicked on my link to your blog I went to your Nov. 19th post. All this time I've been worried that the foot surgery went horribly awry and you were suffering terribly. So glad to be able to "see" your blog this morning and to find that you're recovering. Yeah!

As to the shoe issue - after my foot surgery, when I finally got out of the surgical boot (which I really wanted to burn when, but didn't) I found that my sneakers were way too tight across my foot for comfort. I went and bought a cheap extra wide slip on shoe at K-mart that was stiff enough to provide some measure of protection. Even today, nearly 3 years later, if anyone even comes close to stepping on that foot, I have a major meltdown.

Love the UFO stuff, too! Keep up the good work.

Brain Age

Okay. So I've been playing with my little Nintendo DS Lite for 3 days now and it thinks my brain age is my actual age. I don't feel so insulted anymore.

But I still wish there were things I could remember more clearly. Like which class in college did I read parts of the Decameron in? I was so thrilled by it I went to the library and read the whole thing. But I can't remember which class or which professor it was. And I feel like I should be able to remember that. It was only 25-26 years ago...

Yes we joined the mad frenzy yesterday at the outlet stores. Needed to take DH with his new Seiko to have the band adjusted. Then we started the birthday shopping for him - 2 new pair of pants, 2 new shirts, a new pair of Pumas. Bought DD a Puma hat and shoes and new socks. She bought her own jeans. Then it was on to Best Buy to buy a camera case and memory card for DS's camera - I thought my camera took the same kind, but was wrong and was going to let him have my second card. Bought more games for my little Nintendo which obviously needs a name. It's white - maybe Snowflake?

Went to the Hard Times Cafe for supper. Three cheers for Chili Mac and beer.

Today is hanging out day. Laundry, library. DS is at track practice. DD just left for a run. I'm off to the showers and then maybe some afternoon stitching. That would be wonderful.

The Day After

Festivities are over with and now life can return to "normal." No more dreams of what I didn't buy or what needs to be wrapped.

Everyone in my family knows better than to try and shop for me at any type of craft store. LOL But I am going on a shopping excursion with friends to the Stitching Post on Friday. Lots of fun, even if I don't buy much.

Santa Baby bought me a Ninento DS Lite with Brain Age. Yes, I asked for this nearly a year ago. I've begun training as my brain age was a pitiful 62. 'Cause the machine didn't like my handwriting. I'm sure I'll get this down to a more realistic age in short order.

DS disappeared for five hours with his copy of Medieval II, Total War. LOL I threatened to turn the machine off if he didn't remove himself. He didn't even think about food in that time. How very strange for a teenage boy.

and I am officially proclaiming myself the Gravy Queen. I have perfected the art of perfect gravy. On Thanksgiving it the was the best turkey gravy ever. Yesterday it was the best roast beast gravy ever. The mashed potatoes are just a vehicle for getting the gravy into one's mouth. Oh my.

And finally I guilted the party who swore he was going to make Christmas cookies and kept putting it off, into making cookies late yesterday. Mmmm. Snickerdoodles.

swiped book meme

Totally swiped the below meme. From Res Ipsa - http://yum.typepad.com/resipsa/ - via Jenn at Needleful Things - http://www.needleful-things.com/xsblog/

Will confess to being an English major - be prepared.

Earlier today, I came across the list of "30 Classics" selected in 1984 by William Bennett, then Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The author of the blog where I saw the list had noted beside each title whether and when she’d read it, which seemed like a great idea for a blog post. So here ya go:

(1) The Works of Shakespeare: Only plays I can say for certain I haven't read - Othello and Titus Andronicus. Also read many, many sonnets.

(2) Declaration of Independence: Most certainly. And the Constitution, too.

(4) Poems of Emily Dickinson: Collected Poems of Emily still on my bookshelf. Love her.

(5) Poems of Robert Frost: Collected Poems of Robert Frost still on my bookshelf. Bobbo, you rock.

(6) Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter: Yup. On my own from the town library. Was what - 10?

(7) F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby: High school or college? Can't remember. Read it first on my own.

(8) George Orwell, 1984: High School - Anyone for a chorus of "Sex Crimes?"

(9) Homer, The Odyssey and The Iliad: Odyssey, yes. Iliad, no.

(10) Charles Dickens, Great Expectations & Tale of Two Cities: GE - 8th grade. What was the teacher thinking? AToTC - nope.

(11) Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales: College. Do I get extra points for having read Boccacia's Decameron also?

(12) J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye: Never in school. But have read this many times.

(13) The Bible: Brought up Catholic and they didn't encourage reading this on your own. No longer consider myself Christian - am a UU - and have read quite a bit of it on my own.

(14) Henry David Thoreau, Walden: For sure. On my own.

(15) Sophocles, Oedipus: Yes. Read all the Greek plays.

(16) John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath: Yes. Can't remember if high school or college. This book reads like poetry.

(17) Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essays and poems: Yup.

(18) Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass: Walt, my man. Even quoted him in my high school yearbook. Collected poems and essays still on my bookshelf.

(19) Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice: Love this book. Probably have read it a dozen times.

(20) Herman Melville, Moby Dick: Okay. Now as an English major I had successfully avoided this book. Billy Budd had bored the pants off me in high school. But there was this UU minister who would preach a sermon based on Moby Dick every year who inspired me to read this book. Terrific. I love it. Melville can even be funny sometimes.

(21) Anything by William Faulkner: Ah you twisted man. Read the Sound and the Fury in college and then promptly read everything else of his I could get my hands on.

(22) John Milton, Paradise Lost. No.

(23) Vergil, The Aeneid. No.

(24) Plato, The Republic. I have this on my bookshelf, too.

(25) Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto. Dabbled in this one on my own. Haven't read the entire thing.

(26) Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince: Pieces of it. Not the entire thing.

(27) Alexis DeTocqueville, Democracy in America: On the bookshelf in the future read pile.

(28) Feodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment: Yes. In high school. Prompted me to go read more of him and all the other Russians.

(29) Aristotle, Politics. No, just excerpts.

(30) Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace: First book I didn't finish reading ever. I remember being at page 125 and being pissed off that I hadn't seen the same characters again. He was still introducing the darn people. And I loved Anna Kareninia.

ghosties in the machines

I tried posting this morning from the desktop and no go. Kept making me go back and sign in. Sigh. Now I am on the laptop and voila, the dashboard came right up and I didn't have to sign in. Sigh. I'm confuzzled.

Literally do not think my brain is working properly. Need a Nintendo DS and the Brain Age game. Or something. One Sudoku a day is not enough apparently. LOL

But all shopping is finished except something I'm trying to find for teenage boy. Took my daughter to the stores off the beaten track - re: Old Town Alexandria today. Not a place to shop for a teenage boy. Once you leave the confines of Best Buy, all teenage boy shopping had better be finished. Did love the Brit in the Ten Thousand Villages who wished me a Happy Christmas. Made my day.

Stitching. None. But plans for a shopping adventure with friends after Christmas. That should prove inspiring.

apologies

I've been bad at writing here. Another crappy cold. Very frustrating.

Went back to NH for a quick trip for in-laws 50th anniversary. What a long ride. But it so much better with 2 drivers.

Finished painting my needlepoint canvas. I need to go to the store some day when the teacher is working and pick colors. I think I know how I want to do the background - I'm certainly not leaving it plain tent stitch.

And I picked up a cheapo punch needle kit and needle at AC Moore. I was thinking that this might be easy to do with failing eyesight. Especially at night. Am experimenting with learning good technique. And I am wondering why anyone spends any money on patterns for this when you can use any type of design found free on the 'net.

quick update

I'm back in Virginia after a whirlwind trip to NH. Poor DH had a cold and was miserable for a good part of the time and now I've got it. Don't feel too bad, but don't have a voice either. I'm squeaky like the cat.

Stopped in Worcester to see college girl. We fed her and bought her groceries. And in general enjoyed her presence.

Spent Saturday in a frenzy and succeeded in finishing shopping for all Christmas presents and birthdays to save myself postage. Got everything wrapped and beribboned. Met the new kitty that lives with my in-laws. A good match for both feline and humans.
Went out for seafood dinner. If someone had tried to steal a bite of my haddock I would have stabbed them with my fork. DD arrived courtesy of boyfriend. Two underage kids brought a bottle of champagne to my in-laws as a present. They didn't realize that they were breaking the law. Duh.

Got up early Sunday. DD and I went with sister and nephew to our old church, South Church, in Portsmouth NH. I love that building. I know we moved away 12 years ago, but I am surprised that there was not one familiar face there. Enjoyed a sermon about doing less at the holidays.

Our brunch anniversary party was no surprise to in-laws. Things went well and I was glad that I went instead of sending DH alone.

Had an incident free drive back to VA yesterday. I'm exhausted. And I think it's Monday. LOL

Nope I Haven't Fallen off the Face of the Earth

Certain things are interesting right now. Personally. Just trying to digest some info and now my brain is clogged.

On the other hand - we've had a change in plans and now I'm going to NH this weekend. It's the in-laws 50th anniversary. We'll stop and see the darling one, college girl, on the way by Worcester. Take her out for a meal. Bug her. She'll be home on the 19th.

Meanwhile, I'm suddenly in overdrive. Trying to finish shopping and wrapping so I can take presents with me, instead of paying postage to mail. Holiday cards again take a backseat. I've got a scrapbook album to do - but it's quick and painless. The wedding photo, wedding photos of the kids, a few family photos, decorate some blank pages for cards and letters. Nothing too complicated.

Meanwhile I took an awesome class at my LNS on Sunday night. It was about handpainting needlepoint canvases. Totally cool. I get the entire canvas painted and I figure out my photo posting problem, I'll post a picture.

SBQ

How do you secure your thread when you begin a new one? Specifically, do you or have you ever used a waste knot?

If using 2 threads of non-variegared floss, I loop start. Always.
If not, I will use my version of a waste knot (I weave the thread through the edge of the fabric a couple of times using enough thread to be able to rethread my needle later).

After there is enough coverage on the back of a piece, I will just anchor the thread on the back and stitch from there.

I tried

I tried posting some pics here, but they haven't shown up. Will try again.

But meanwhile.

While watching the Patriots/Bears game on Sunday I saw something that has turned me off football entirely. That was one player punching another player in the head. The punchee was down on the field at the end of the play. And the puncher, as he was getting up, took a cheap shot at him. (Yes, I know. They are wearing helmets. Still.) Even saw it in the background of the replay. Commentators didn't comment. But that's it for me. Too much unnecessary violence. I don't mind fighting during hockey or roller derby. That's part of the game. This, however, is making me rethink football. This whole mentality of if I can do without the ref seeing me, I will kick, stomp, punch an opposing player.

Personal issue. What can I say?

thanksgiving weekend

We left bright and early on Friday morning for the VA Beach area, just stopping for a wonderful breakfast at Aunt Sarah's Pancake House (we need to go back and try the honey dipped chicken). They were squeezing fresh orange juice and grinding fresh coffee right by the front door. Good place to eat. Arrived in VA Beach and did the first thing which was walk down to the water. The storm that had blown through here on Tues/Wed had knocked down some of the Christmas light displays and deposited sand where it usually isn't. I now I will confess that we had been having a pinball craving and where better to satisfy that than an arcade at the beach? At a place called Flipper McCoy's. Had some lunch, wandered into some of the tacky touristy beach stores. Decided to go check out our home for the night on Ft Story. The Cape Henry Inn is a relatively new place - has a hotel, separate cabins, even two log cabins. We had a 2 bedroom, living room and kitchen with an ocean view. The boys wanted to smoke cigars on the beach. And rather than ignore the notices to not walk on the dunes, we got in the car to ride back to the lighthouses, but we never made it. Because we spotted friends driving the other way. White Volvo with Vermont plates - which we were used to seeing back at West Point. We turned around and followed them and we all had a great laugh. We had just been at their house in Maryland for a party at the beginning of November, but neither family knew the other family's plans. Went out for dinner at Bubba's Seafood with them. And Tom came and slept at our cabin.

The teenage boys were planning to get up and go for a run on the beach at 6:00 a.m. But they had talked long into the night. I tried waking them up at 6:20 before I left for a walk, but apparently they didn't get up and run till 7:30. I walked all alone on the beach for about 1 1/2 hours. Enjoyed that immensely. After showers and good-byes to our friends, we left to get breakfast at the Jewish Mother in VA Beach. The boys had pastrami and swiss cheese omelets. And we shared some of Mama Rachel's Potatoe Latkes which were excellent.

We crossed the Bay Bridge over to Virginia's eastern shore and headed north to Chincoteague and Assateague. We did see some ponies in the distance, but none close enough for me to get a picture. What was amazing was the snow geese which you can see here:

http://www.chincoteaguechamber.com/map-ft-sg1.html

Demise of Tower Records

The closing of the Tower Records stores has me bummed. When I was a teen, we'd trek into Boston from New Hampshire just for the opportunity to shop there. It was a mecca of music. It was a place to see and be seen. DH and I have enjoyed passing on the joy of shopping at Tower to our children. It's sad to see them go. We just racked up our last over $100 shopping spree on Saturday. Treated our son to Jethro Tull's "Thick as a Brick." Bought someone a present (for pretty girls?) Bought several classical music DVDs. One more Oscar Peterson album. I guess I should go check out Pandora.com because there is no real life store where I'll be able to browse through so many different styles of music again.

Thanksgiving Plans

My original thought was to get out of Dodge for Thanksgiving that way I wouldn't focus on who wasn't here for the holiday. But. After some serious planning yesterday and a study of the long range weather forecast, we decided to stay at home for Thanksgiving Day. And to head to Virginia Beach on Friday. We've got a room (actually several rooms) at the Cape Henry Inn on Ft. Story. Those DoD ID cards occasionally come in handy.

I wanted to go to the mountains, but DH wanted to go to the beach. Beach is good. And will be warmer, too. And I will finally, after all these years, get to Chincoteague Island.

rain, rain, went away

DH bought a tuxedo last weekend. Didn't really think about maybe he'd need a new tux shirt (he had one with his Army Dress Mess uniform.) This due to body adjustment from no longer doing PT 5-6 days a week.

Wednesday evening he informs me that he needs a new shirt and he wants to wear this Friday night to the holiday party.

So out I went in the hellacious rain yesterday. I went to the mall first where all I found were wingtip collars which he didn't want. I heard the rain start while inside the mall. That's when I knew I should have moved faster. I felt bad for the women standing at the doors with baby strollers.

Several stops later - and by now I'm soaking wet - I finally located the shirt. But of course they don't have any red bow ties (which he needs for the Chorale performance.)

That means today I'm searching for a red bow tie because he decided last night that a new black tie might be nice. Oh. *smacking forehead*

Mini

We were at a stop light and in the next lane ahead of us was a Mini-Cooper with the license plate
ANTIH2.

Of course, my first thought was half of water, but then I figured it out. Great plate on a small car.

what a coincidence

On my Google home page are the directions for how to save a wet cell phone.

It's basically everything my DS intuitively did. And his freakin' phone works just fine, except for the volume down button, but you can turn the volume down on the screen. So comparing his phone with his sister's phone leads to the conclusion that dropping the phone is more damaging than washing the silly thing.

Imagine that.

Now I'm off to shop for my sister's birthday! It's one of those years where her birthday and Thanksgiving coincide. (Pay attention, DD!)

Which Leads Me To Do This

If you are someone easily offended don't read the post following this one. No apologies, just a slight warning.

This Post Brought to You

by Jenn of My Needleful Things (http://www.needleful-things.com/xsblog/) and the Letter F:

Comment to this message and I will assign you a letter of the alphabet. Then go to your journal and post a list of 10 words that begin with this letter and what they mean to you.

!) Frederick - (Dady-Fred)- my favorite boy's middle name - and his father's middle name - and his grandfather's first name - Originally this name brought me to Little Women and Professor Frederick, Jo's beau. Though maybe it was spelled Frederich. I don't remember. But now it's a family name from the family I married.

@) Friend - bestest friends are my hubby and my sister - and where would we be without friends? Miserable, that's where.

#) Faith - I've got none. I'm a UU who identifies as an agnostic. I see no evidence for the existence of god. I see no evidence for the non-existence of god. I'm happy here on my fence, thank you very much.

$) French - I didn't ask for the French last name - I married it. But there is no denying I've got a French Canadian heritage, too. Just not as strong as some people's.

%) Fie - Fie on goodness, fie. Fie. Fie. Fie. Or fee, fie, fo, fum. What a terrific little three letter word. I'm gonna go put it in my Nanowrimo.

^) Feet - as in happy feet. As in if you're feet ain't happy, you are miserable. No more foot surgery for me. Once was enough. Unless some drops an anvil on me.

&) Fantabulous - fantastic and fabulous in one word. Isn't language fun? Look, there's a bonus word: FUN. Also Fanta. Not the stuff sold in the U.S. of A. but the wonderful Fanta we used to get in Germany. Big orange drink heaven.

*) Fried - so bad for you, tastes so good -fried food! Look, another one crept in - Food!

() Fancy - as in flight of, as in fantasy. Way too many F words which brings us to:

)) Fuck - best F word ever. Fucking, fucker, fucked.
"Roses are red, violets are blue, turkeys are for Thanksgiving, let's fuck!"
You don't really need an extended soliloquy. Just make up your own. And now you're fucked.

Bye-bye!

*)

Milestone

Hey, I got to 600 posts yesterday. Huzzah for me. That took slightly over 3 years.

Another Nice Day - new product to make stitching nicer

Boys are outside washing and waxing the cars. Who knows when we'll see 70 + degrees again. I finished out front digging in the dirt which I prefer to do gloveless. Which meant I did th dishes to make it easier to remove the worst of the blackness. And then used my new favorite cuticle softening hand product.

Not affiliated, blah, blah. Surgeon's Skin Secret. I found the best price at QVC and ordered from them. First time I ever ordered anything from QVC. Comes in a push up tube and is made of beeswax and lanolin. Not to be used right before stitching. I started using the stuff on Wednesday and by Friday the skin around my nails is soft, all signs of hangnails gone. I'm using it once in the a.m. and again at bedtime.

SB Question of the Week: re: Floss

How many different brands of “complete” embroidery floss sets do you own? How do you keep track of it? (i.e., spread sheet program, index cards, palm pilot, etc.)

Only complete set I own is DMC. And I'm sure some of it is 20 years old. Have I ever used that bright blue that 's in the 900s? Nope. Pretty, but way too bright and I've never had a pattern that called for it either. My DMC is all in Floss Away bags on rings in a big Rubbermaid tote.

My Anchor is in a Ziploc bag. My GAST (everytime I get close to having all these, they make more) is in its own plastic bin, same as Weeks. My silks are all in a big plastic bag. My metallics are all in a plastic bin. My flower thread is all in a plastic bin. My DMC #5, #8 all in their own bin, too.

How do I keep track of them? I don't. Why not? because a floss toss is a chance to fondle. Especially the silks. Of course if I get much more, I'll probably organize it all nicely. Someday. When I need to procrastinate on something else.

Holiday

First - a salute to all the veterans who have served the U.S.A. Thank you.

DH had today off. DS didn't. But the poor boy caught the cold that we had 3 weeks ago.
And thus he was home and spent the day on the couch with a box of tissues watching the History Channel and its cousins.

DH and I took down the gazebo. I need to see if I can clean the roof with a weak bleach solution. The outdoor rug was wet, so it's draped over the swing. All that hard work, then I went out front and weeded and amended soil and planted some tulips for the spring. It was a lovely balmy 70 degrees and highly enjoyable to be outside.

Carriage House Samplings

Um. What can I say? I totally should never have gone to their website before hitting the LNS.

Besides the Dainty Housewren, the Strawberry Blonde and Fall's Gifts jumped into my bag. And I ordered The Gingham Dog and Calico Cat Sampler.

LOL, enablers.

Sheesh

I went to LNS Tuesday afternoon. And on Wednesday I of course get the e-mail that the chart I wanted is in. Carriage House Sampling "Dainty Housewren." Now I'm having a brain cramp. Who blogged this finished piece? I want to see the picture again. If you're reading this, please point me in the correct direction. Many Thanks!

I voted

DH voted. And DS is working the polls for 6 hours today. I nagged DD last night to remind her to vote at college.

Now, go forth and participate!

ah

The irony of doing a Heart Walk and then eating a heart attack sandwich isn't lost on me. But at least I didn't bring dunkin donuts to the walk, nor was I smoking. Unlike some people there.

missed posting yesterday

And I figured that I would. Posting every day in November. That lasted a long time.

Son took SATs for last time. DH and I went into D.C. to participate in the Heart Walk. That was kinda cool. Ate lunch at our favorite deli where the Reuben will probably kill you, but it tastes oh so good. If I didn't have teeth, I could still eat that corned beef, it's that tender. And there's what? 3/4 of a pound on each sandwich? Yum.

then we had a promotion party to attend. Which was fun. Some people drank too much - not me. I was good as I knew I was going to drive home.

Woke up this a.m. with a killer headache and have been avoiding doing anything ever since. Surprised I've lasted this long on the computer. But definitely need to search out more ibuprofen now.

stitching blogger's QOTW 11/2

SBQ: How did you decide on the title of your stitching blog? Was it random, or does it have a special meaning to you or about you?

I started my blog in 2003 one year after moving away from the needlework shops of Washington Capitol Area. (Is that what the sign says as you leave Dulles Airport? I can never quite recall...)

In NY, I felt like I had left stitcher's paradise and arrived in a wasteland. Except for the friends I made in my local EGA chapter. All stores were at least one hour's drive away. There wasn't even a bookstore (though a Barnes and Noble did open in Newburgh right before we moved away.) Everyone shopped online. Or at CATS Hershey. Thus, needleworker not in paradise.

I did contemplate renaming when we moved back to the Washington Capitol Area last year. But 1) I'm too lazy and, 2) I kinda like the bitchy tone of this name.

Throwdown on posting

Can I post at least once a day for a whole entire month? Probably not. At least not while trying to write a 50,000 word mini-novel. And considering that I don't always turn on the 'puter on weekends. But I can try. Even if it's too late to register.

http://www.fussy.org/nablopomo.html

Thanks, Anna!

Nov. 1st

First day of NaNoWriMo. I was doing quite well. Had nearly a thousand words done. Realized that it was getting late and I needed to review DS's college application essays. He asked me to look at them. That was a totally different type of writing. I couldn't go back to my novel. LOL

But we did accomplish a lot yesterday. DS and I got his essays corrected for spelling and grammar and submitted his early decision application to the College of William and Mary. We also found a suit that fit him. Sure, the stores sell men's size 50s, but 38L - good luck finding that. We were close to spending big bucks at Men's Wearhouse. They had one - just one size 38L in Penneys. Any place else we looked had none. Because we found a deal, I bought him a second pair of dress pants and a cordouroy blazer. Shades of my past. There was my son standing there dressed in black shoes, jeans, white dress shirt, and a brown cordouroy jacket. He looked just like any of my fellow preppies from 1978. Just missing the tie hanging out of the jacket pocket. Major flashback for Mom.

Stopped at Wegman's to shop for dinner. Coudln't resist buying some cannoli shells and filling. Yumm. Watched Lost. Need to catch up with Top Chef today. And now it's time to go write 3,000 words. Yeah. Right.

NaNoWriMo

This is National Novel Writing Month.

You can see it all here:

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

I'm up to 650 words. Only 49,350 to go!

Officially crazy.

Red

I thought he was gonna live forever, too.

My favorite Celtic team of all time in the championship team from 1984. My soon-to-be DH was at advanced camp at Fort Bragg and I was in NH working and planning the wedding. I remember staining furniture while watching them dismantle the evil Lakers. Good times.

Quiet Weekend

Didn't do much. Suckered people into playing Monopoly with me. And why anyone ever let's me have the orange properties, I'll never know. Only took me 2 hours to win. That was fun! (Okay maybe suckered is too harsh - coerced. Yeah, that's it.)

I need to find a suit for my tall, skinny boy. You'd think 38L wouldn't be so hard to find. But apparently most American men are now rounder. It's easier to find a 48S. I'll be trying to fulfill this mission most of this week I'm sure. Fortunately, tall, skinny one has some afternoons free for the first time this school year. We're at that break between cross-country and winter track.

I intended to sit and stitch on my Black Forest piece yesterday. I think I put in about 10 stitches. Freakin' light was four o'clock light, not three o'clock light. And I also got distracted by the "House" marathon on USA. I hadn't watched this show before and now I'm totally hooked. I love the anti-doctor McDreamy.

Yup - I Got It Cut

It's above my shoulders now with layers and no bangs, but face framing layers at the side. I'm pretty happy with what she did. And this hairdresser is a true bargain.

I may have to use a headband when cooking to keep the side layers out of my face, but I can live with that. In a day or two after I wash it, I'll try to get a photo.

I also broke down 3 weeks ago and dyed it. I was watching that Oprah show with Nora Ephron, Geena Davis, and Diahann Carroll when I decided that gray may be natural, but it's not all that flattering. I went a shade darker brown than my natural color and it only took my MIL about 2 seconds to comment on it when they arrived a few weeks ago. I think mostly it's because she wants her granddaughter who was once blonde, to go blonde again, and not be a brunette. Not that she was trying to start anything with me, 'cause that's not her style. But she does have an eagle eye for these things.

I'm Off to My Hair Cut

Son says don't cut.
Hubby says don't cut.
Daughter says let your gut instinct take over when you sit in the chair.

I'm leaning towards really cutting it, not just trimming it.
What good is long hair if all you do is pull it away from your face?

stitching blogger's QOTW 10/25

If you were to come across a sampler chart that caught your eye and appealed to you, would you or would you not stitch it if it had a morbid or “creepy” saying on it? If not, why?

Count me in the camp that probably bought because it was morbid or creepy.

Feeling Better

But I still need more sleep.

DD IMd me this morning with the date she can leave school so I could start looking for a flight home for her. But that lack of sleep thing is clouding my thinking and I forgot to ask her when she needs to be back. (Note to DD: tickets are roundtrip. Let's both remember this in the future, 'kay?) LOL

Meanwhile, it's a Lost/Top Chef night. Yeah. One night a week, I want to watch the telly.

And for anyone who's missing Project Runway, I give you this incredible blog:

http://projectrungay.blogspot.com/

*bowing down in homage*

stitching blogger's question

Which way do you stitch, i.e. do you stitch /// followed by \\\ on top, or the other way around \\\ followed by ///? Are you left- or right-handed and do you think that this affects the way that you stitch?

I stitch /// first followed by \\\. Once upon a time, I stitched the other way. Then I did a couple of needlepoint pieces that I started in the top right hand corner doing the continental stitch ///, and then the habit apparently stuck. I am right-handed and I think this effects how I stitch because I try to start most designs in the top right hand corner, especially if I'm working in hand, and that just led to me stitching /// first.

Mini - S.E.X. Book Review

I stopped at Michael's yesterday to see what they had left for autumnal
decorations and look what jumped into my bag.

Liz Turner Diehl's book, "The Portable Crafter: Cross-Stitch." This is
a little 6" by 5" book with 17 projects in it. Everything from acorn
designs to a floral bracelet to playing cards and even an English knot
garden. Cost is $12.95 and I got to use my 40% off coupon. Too cute.
Love it.

argh

This is horrendous. I've coughed so much I've pulled a muscle or cracked a rib. Now there's even more pain. And I can't sleep, because I cough and wake myself up. Lovely. Even the kitties don't want to be near me because they get scared when I cough or sneeze unexpectedly.

ah misery

blast it

In-laws came to visit and now we've been left with a cold. I feel horrible. Sore throat, headache, congestion and cough. Did not sleep well under those conditions.

So further posting not available 'cuase I can't think straight.

How Many of Me?

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 3 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

With my maiden name, there are 13 of me.

stitching bloggers' question

Almost missed this one as my in-laws are visiting. I bring them back to the airport this morning.

As we all know, stitching in the winter can really be rough on the hands. What do you do to treat your hands well in the cold winter months? Do you have any suggestions for creams or soaps? Or perhaps a special regimen that you would like to share?

My cuticles can be bad all year round. Best fix for me is to use a paraffin wax hand spa thingy. Added bonus: it feels great. But it does take a while for the wax to melt. You can pick these up any where - Wal-Mart, drugstores, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Kohl's etc. Just a tip. You do not need to spend extra money on their replacement wax. Just look for the wax that is used in canning. A difference in price of $5.00 or more.

Also love the hand therapy line from Crabtree and Evelyn that I bought last January at the airport. It was a 2 part deal - part 1 exfoliates and part 2 moisturizes.

Another quickie: while in the kitchen cooking, put a little sugar in the palm of your hand, then add a little olive oil. (Salt works, too. But that's drying.) Rinse under warm water.

I do find my problems mostly stem from abuse I do to my hands around the house. While on vacation where I don't have to do any housework, my hands and nails improve dramatically. I know that wearing rubber gloves would help, but I despise them. LOL

What Happened?

We never had the end of summer and today it's 38 degrees out there. I had to turn the heat on. Blah. If it was just me, I wouldn't.

Still got a bathroom to clean and sheets to change and the kitchen floor needs a quick mopping.

Need to leave for the airport around 12:30 to pick up in-laws.

I've got plenty o' time!

Tired, but Unbowed

Got the stripe painted yesterday in DS's room. I carefully taped - nice and even and level. And even burnished the tape with my bone folder, but there was still some bleeding of the paint. Just a little bit. I bet if I had HD tv that I would probably see this on those home improvement shows I watch. Silly boy was so tired after cross country practice yesterday. We rearranged furniture and he fell asleep on the couch after supper. I chased him upstairs to do his homework and he fell asleep again. Ah, the teenage sleeping sickness. The only time it doesn't happen is when sitting down to eat. Food will keep him awake.

I went to my favorite resale store to look for a new dresser for him, but the only ones I liked were too expensive at the moment. Will check again a few weeks (prices drop over time) and maybe look at IKEA.

Off to clean before in-laws arrive. I admit, I do like clean windows. But not enough to clean them once a month.

Painting Again

DS and I painted the top half of his walls a lighter green called Willow Wind. And the bottom a darker green called Gardens of Paradise. (How do they come up with these names?) Today, I'm in charge of painting a nice straight, even brown stripe between the two greens. The greens look terrific. And that's how I spent Columbus Day. Will post a picture when we're finished.

I Know - I Missed It

National Talk Like a Pirate Day was back on September 9th and I missed it this year.

To make up for it (thanks to Jenn!) here's a link to Cross Eyed Cats Jolly Roger.

http://www.crosseyedkat.com/Freebies/JollyRogerCat.pdf

I'm currently working on black belfast so I've got some extra that I can use for this little sweet thing.

almost forgot

For those who have a well-developed sense of humor you might want to gizoogle your blog. Just google gizoogle, type in your webpage and laugh.

I had forgotten about this website until DH brought home a printout of a webpage from work.

You Might Not Believe This

But I proved I can go into a LNS and purchase only one skein of silk thread. I did it on Saturday.

I'm working on the Goode Huswife's "Black Forest" and it calls for 6 colors of Needlepoint Inc. silks. I remember when I kitted this up that I had difficulty finding one of the colors and chose the color one shade darker. Once I started stitching I decided that I needed the exact shade as the substitute color was too close to another color. I actually decided this on September 30th and placed an internet order, which I haven't received yet. And I ran out of patience - hey the order only needs to go from Delaware to Virginia and the stuff was supposedly in stock.

That being said: I stopped by one of my LNS and ran into a friend from EGA who was kitting up a Christmas stocking. Had fun talking with her and browsing around and I picked up some stuff, but put it all back and only bought the one skein of Needlepoint Inc. that I needed. This might be a first for me.

Next Job for the Painters in the House

I was going to buy red paint for the kitchen and paint this week before my in-laws arrive. When DS decided he finally wanted to paint his room. We've had the paint since before we moved into the house. He's a little slow. LOL And of course it's no normal paint job. It's dark green around the bottom of the room, a lighter green on top, and brown stripe dividing the two greens with squares along the stripe with a design in the squares. Or was it circles?

What to do on a dull, rainy day

Why dye your hair, of course. And 2 day sensitivity skin test be damned.

So it's now a little darker, and most of the gray hair got covered. Makes my eyes look greener. Bizarre.

DS is off at cross-country and we're being bad parents and not subjecting ourselves to rain and 50 odd degree temperatures. Just too much.

Interesting Day

As I was already going in to D.C. to meet up with hubby for a tour, I decided to go a little bit early.

Had lunch at the Mitisam Cafe at the Museum of the American Indian. An eclectic lunch of wild mushroom soup, sassafrass tea and a blueberry tart. I didn't stop at any exhibits, but did stop outdoors to enjoy the water feature.

Next stop was the newly opened outdoor garden at the US Botanical Gardens. Give this place 5 five years for the plants to grown and evolve and it could be spectacular. Great view of the Indian museum from inside the garden. I did a quick tour of the inside gardens. There was this potted plant that looked like a lilac but wasn't. And now I've already forgotten its name. And the white ginger was blooming and smelling like paradise.

I stopped at outside to sit and write at one of the tables that are in their own little plant rooms. I was surrounded by legumes. Peanuts and soybeans, sensitve plants and yellow senna. It's lovely there with the Capitol building looming over you and the sparrows flitting among the plants.

Then it was on to meet up with hubby and the rest of tour participants. This was a behind-the-scenes tour of the under-construction Capitol Visitors Center, CVC, as they like to call it. It's being built underground on the east side of the Capitol building. I've never been inside a major construction project before and this was quite an experience. It will certainly be amazing to go back and walk through this when it is completed. We saw everything. Including places that the public will never see. This project originally began with private donations 10 or so years ago. It changed with the shooting of the Capitol policeman. Then changed again after 9/11. It is now funded by our tax dollars and will have very rigid security requirements. They are even debating whether to allow any type of bag inside (purses, backpacks, diaper bags.) They are being sensitive to the fact that this building should be accessible to all citizens yet they need to balance this with protecting members of Congress and the actual building itself. If anyone is interested, details on this project are here: http://www.aoc.gov/cvc/index.cfm

Beta Version of Blogger

If anyone signs up, I'm interested in your opinions. I see that I can't switch back, so I'm not switching yet. Not without feedback first.

Hard Hat Anyone?

We're going on a behind the scenes tour of the new Capitol Visitor's Center today. Hopefully DH has located a hard hat for me. It's not like I've got one. Though he does. And I have to bring it. Why didn't someone bring his own darn hard hat with him?

The hardware idea for the cabinets is a good one. We have already looked and decided on a style and color. I stopped by Lowe's yesterday just to see if there was anything better there than at Home Depot, but the selection was less than impressive. We're going with modern/contemporary and black. Though silver would work, too, I don't want to add another metal color to the kitchen. I've already got bronze windows and black shelves and a black pot rack. But picking a red paint color - not easy. None of the chips I've brought home so far are thrilling. I guess I'll keep looking. Maybe this time even at an actual paint store. That ought to confuse me.

um lovely

  

last little corner

 

The last six inches were stubborn. What effing kind of glue was this? 

fun fun fun

  

end of wallpaper border

I was trying to post photos of my lovely wallpaper border (insert sarcasm here.)
But Picasa froze up on me. Will try again in a few minutes.

But I did get the last of it removed. Whoever invented Dif, thank you. Certainly made it easier. But it still was not easy. Had to scrape every tiny bit of paper off the wall with elbow grease and my trusty blue scraper. But it would have taken twice as long without the Dif.

Now we are contemplating paint colors. I was considering painting my 70s era cupboards. But DH is right. Probably too hard to make this look good and have it last. Settled on painting the backsplash wall and we're looking at red. This should detract from the cabinets. A cheap peel n stick flooring should help, too. And the ceiling needs to be cleaned. Now there's a job I'm not anticipating.

SB Question of the week

When you find yourself making a lot of mistakes in various stitching projects do you find it better to muddle your way through or do you take a brief break from stitching? If you do take a break, how long do you take?

It depends. Am I making mistakes because I'm tired and just miscounting holes or actual stitches? or am I making mistakes because the directions have left me clueless and guessing at what the designer intended?

If it's me and I'm just tired, I just set the project aside for another day. Aside - another day can morph into another month. I got a tangled thread on the back of my Agnes Scott sampler back in June or July and I put her away. Poor dear. I really should exhume her from the closet.

If it's the instructions that are causing me problems, I will forge ahead and make my own decisions on what would be best. This frequently requires frogging. And I stick out my tongue at the teacher who looked at my choice and was less than impressed. My choice looked better than hers did. And it was easier to do and took a lot less time.

the Weekend

The wallpaper removing adventure continued. I spent Saturday climbing up on the step stool scraping, applying more Dif, getting back down, and sitting and stitching. Then all over again in 20 minutes. I finished removing the *^$#& from the long wall and started on the short wall. Got a fair amount of stitching done this way. I pledge to never, ever apply wallpaper or a wallpaper border to any property I own (except if I ever own the "right" house, I'd apply the kind to the ceiling that looks like a tin ceiling. But that's not likely to happen.)

When I finish in the kitchen, it'll be on to removing the flowers from the powder room.

Yesterday DH and I went to the VA Wine Festival - 57 wine wendors and we sampled from what 4 or 5? Just too much for my taste buds to handle. My real reason for going though was to see Saffire - the Uppity Blues Women - perform. Marvelous. Terrific. *clapping*

It's The End of September - Already?

Yesterday I thought I was being good putting DS clothes in the washer before I left the house to meet a "new" stitching friend at Borders. But when I got home to put them in the dryer - I had washed his cell phone! Oh. Leave it to a teenager.

Last night he took the phone apart while telling me about his friend who dropped his overboard in salt water and it still worked. My reply was that his friend's phone had been in the water for less than 2 minutes. His went thru the wash cycle.

This morning before leaving for a x-country meet, we reattached things and used my fully charged battery and lo and behold, the darn thing turns on.

Of course, while in the car I asked him to see if all his contacts were still there. Yup. And he had voicemail and when he went to access it, oops. Pushing a button gives you multiple numbers. Maybe all is not well afterall. LOL

But I did have a nice visit with a new friend. Next time, it's on to stashing adventures.

Middle of a Conversation

For those who are not regular readers: stumbling onto someone's blog is like entering the middle of a conversation. Sometimes you're totally lost, sometimes you can figure it out, and sometimes you just need to ask questions.

I pulled out the Dif and the Paper Tiger and attacked the wallpaper border in the kitchen. I got about 8 feet done. Borders are the absolute pits. My hands are killing me. Even with the Dif I have to literally scrape every piece off. More than once. In layers. This stupid border has been up there probably for more than 20 years. Why couldn't someone just have stencilled the darn wall? This is going to take me 3-4 days. Especially with the way my hands feel. Drat this getting older thing.

EGA stuff

I may have to change to evening meetings. As much as I love the morning ladies, there are 3-4 times as many people attending in the p.m.

The class teacher was unable to attend as her real life job interfered. But we had a plucky substitute, which was nice. I stitched a pretty spider web (no photo on this on as it is silver blending filament and you can hardly see it) and a black spider who looks fairly innocuous. I started a ladybug next, then realized my proportions were off and it was too small. Just stitched over it to make it bigger. It's a baby ladybug, what can I say?

This did get me to pick up the last cross stitch project that I started - the Goode Huswif's Black Forest. It isn't pumpkins, but it is kind of autumnal colors. But it is black fabric and the holes are getting more difficult for me to find, even with white fabric underneath it. I took it outside and stitched on the deck while listening to NPR. There is a fair amount of beigey brown color on this piece, but I think when I add a little bit of green and gold, it'll be okay. I know myself and too much boring color makes me set things aside. It was nice outside as the birds and squirrels are pilaging my dogwood tree for the berries. Which meant I had to sweep the sidewalk. Still not as bad as the Russian olive tree we had in Colorado. If you stepped on those things, you had a tendency to fall. Just like in the movies. Feet go forward and land on your behind.

transporting large pieces of plywood

All I can say about this is, Home Depot and Lowe's both offer a cutting service. I had them cut my headboard piece into a piece 36" by 60." I took the remaining pieces to make support legs and DS is eyeing the rest to create a triangular table. Plywood can be heavier than it looks, too.

I know some of my settings are wonky or incomplete. I will try to address this soon.

I read way more blogs than appear on my site.

Off to EGA meeting where we are doing an embroidery piece this month in the style of Helen Stevens.

update

Well I see the picture of my headboard as posted, looks kinda washed out. But, hey. I'm not paying for this stuff. It'll do.

I checked out a local wal-mart and no sign of a floss changeover. But things can happen quickly at these stores, so I will be paying attention.

I was going to son's x-country meet, when he called me to say it was cancelled. Hmmm. Continued driving, but instead of ending up at the park, I ended up a LNS. Just to buy the JCS ornament issue. I've done a quick perusal of the mag and there are a few I would consider doing, but nothing that compells me. There are a few that just look like someone slapped them together with little real thought. And a few that look like previous ornaments.

Is It True?

There are posts on RCTN that Wal-Mart is going to discontinue DMC and start carrying Anchor floss. If it's so, I'll have a reason to shop at Wally-world. I do think Anchor give better coverage. Of course, I doubt if they are going to carry all the colors...

Finished Headboard

 

Picture came out better than I thought it would. I was afraid all the detail of the fabric would be lost. 

Other Stuff

Jenn asked for a picture of my headboard. I'll try, but I'm not sure it will photograph well. I wonder if there's any power left in the camera battery?

Here's quick and easy apetizer recipe. But don't make this just for you at home. Or you'll eat way too much of it. Make it when you're going somewhere with a crowd.

Artichoke Dip

Mix together one softened 8 oz. package cream cheese, 1 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese, and one 15 oz can of artichoke hearts that you chop (Look a reason to use my Pampered Chef food chopper!) Place in a pie plate and bake at 375 for about 1/2 an hour - just until top starts to brown. Serve with crackers and cut up veggies. As someone would say, yumm-o!

Boo to a day when both the Red Sox and Patriots lose.
But yeah to the return of Desperate Housewives.

And don't forget to watch Project Runway Wednesday night. It's the last challenge.

Slow - but here's a Stitching Blogers' Question

How many pieces have you stitched? Out of these, how many have been for you? How many have had specialty stitches or other techniques besides cross stitch?

How many pieces have I stitched? No faffing clue. Some number over 100 and under 500 would be as close as I could come to answering this. Even though I started keeping more detailed records in 1996.

Next. How many have been for me? Since 1996 all of them. Except 2-3 dozen. And a lot of those are ornaments. I stopped stitching for others and have been slowly filling my walls (though lately it's been more filling my finished projects box) with things I like.

Speciality or other techniques? maybe half of the projects I've done. In 1997 I started an Earth Threads band sampler and that set me down a path to trying new things. From then on, I've done a fair amount of petit point, band samplers, needlepoint, hardanger, etc. I'm always willing to try something new.

Frustration then Results

On Thursday, I was finally able to seriously work on putting my headboard together. I cut a long piece of wood in two for support legs. I predrilled holes for the screws to attach the legs to the headboard. I drilled 3 holes into the headboard in case I decide to add fabric covered buttons. I wrestled with the 3 foot by 5 foot piece of plywood. I rounded the corners of the plywood. I glued the upholstery foam to the plywood with spray adhesive. I used the electric carving knife to trim the foam. I placed the headboard upside down onto a large piece of batting. I found my staple gun. And then. My staple gun did not work! By the time my son and husband got home, I was in the middle of full-fledged fit. This was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Every little thing I did that day, was harder than it should have been. Things were not where they should have been. I was pissed. I admit it.

Next day went to Home Depot and bought a new staple gun. I attached my batting. Ironed my fabric, attached fabric. Then I had to wait for someone else to come to flip the darn thing into place. And wouldn't you know, it's taller than I wanted. I'm not sure exactly where I made my measuring mistake. I can always cut down the legs. Just after all the time this took, I think I'll live with it like this for a while.

BTW, it looks great. The fabric is an embroidered tone on tone taupe. Vines and flowers in chain stitch. And if I ever read the bedroom, off comes the fabric and on goes new fabric. Just would have to pry out about 3 dozen staples.

baseball et al

First a big cheer to Big Papi, David Ortiz, for setting a new club record for the Red Sox for home runs in a season. He broke a decades long mark set by Jimmie Foxx back in 1938. After hitting number 51, he then thwacked number 52 just for insurance!?! You da man!

Yesterday was a struggle. All day. Every little thing. Not good.

Right now, upstairs on the living floor, there's a piece of plywood with rounded corners stuck to upholstery foam lying on a large piece of batting. Right on top of it is a staple gun that for some reason no longer works. AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHH!

Point A to Point B

We managed to get ourselves from Oatlands to RFK yesterday - no problem. Till we got to RFK. Where I had a parking pass. Good for certain lots. And their signs and lack of lighting made me go in circles, then off on a tangent. If it hadn't been for the lady with the orange flag screaming the lot 6, we'd still be circling...LOL Nats lost. But hey. I did get to see Alfonso Soriano and the man who should be rookie of the year, Ryan Zimmerman.

Was a beautiful day for a cross-country race - except for the part where my son's team did not warm up as much as they should have. Um, can you say the weather is much cooler? Painful for all involved. Yes, indeedy. Coach reamed them out afterwards. I enjoyed it. Sometimes being a parent is fun.

Despite my good intentions I did not toss or recycle a single iota of scrapbooking stuff yesterday. But I did manage to get it back into its closet. I still need to purchase some shelves. And I admit the photo boxes are still in DD's room.

Meanwhile, today my allergies are pinging full force. Would love to scratch my nose right off my face. I need a little relief as I woke up with the accompanying sinus headache.

One More Gallon

One more gallon of paint on the walls. Now my bedroom closets are painted (but not DH's - that's another day apparently.) It took an entire gallon to do inside and outside of both closets. I rehung one shelf and a closet rod and put together some Closet Maid stuff and got my clothes and shoes back inside the closet. Looks all nice and neat. It's only shoes and clothes. No real room for purses. Hmmm. May have to rethink this. Maybe they can go under the bed.

Today I need to organize the scrapbooking closet. This outta be fun. Tremendous potential to get sidetracked. Wish I had taken before pictures. I will still need to purchase some shelves as I didn't like what they had at Wally World.
And I am certain I don't need to purchase another piece of paper for crafting for a long time. (paper whore? who me?)

Meanwhile, I need to find directions for how to drive to RFK. We've got Nats tix for tonight. Kind of complicated because DS also has a cross-country meet. So how to get from point A to point B. Fun. Fun.

Progress - Finally

It took a while, but I removed the shelves from one bedroom closet and the incomplete Closet Maid hardware from the other closet and painted. Of course this also meant removing all my scrapbooking supplies which are now in my DD's bedroom - nice perk of college age kid - an unoccupied bedroom.

But all that took so long that I didn't get to do a second coat yesterday. I could have, but that would have meant sleeping with a wet paint. No thanks. That means second coat today. It took way more paint than I thought it would to paint inside these closets. LOL

Also went a bought some fiberboard shelves and things for the inside. One closet will be my clothes and the other still will contain the scrapbooking rubberstamping papermaking card stuff. Which I plan on sorting and being a bit ruthless with.

My real problem lies with those stupid bypass doors. I hate them as you can only see part of the interior of the closet. Of course, I also hated the darn bifold doors we had in the last house. I don't want to spend a ton of money fixing my door issues. But curtains are out as everything inside the closet would get covered with cat hair.

Mosquitos are #@^%$&*$

I went out front to weed yesterday as the weather finally improved and the sun was all shiny bright. I'm not stupid. I put on bug spray. Weeded. Came inside. Grab a quick bite to eat. Went out back to finally plant some bricks. Put on more bug spray. But these %$#@*&^ Asian tiger mosquitos. I came inside with 13 bites. One on my forehead right between the eyes and I was starting to look like a freakin' Klingon. And I still needed to return some stuff to Kohl's and shop for dinner. How lovely.

This morning. Still itchy. Wish there was some way to extract a measure of revenge on these bugs. DDT anyone?

Laughing - I Got Sidetracked

Imagine me sidetracked. What a surprise.

Hmmm. Instead of the headboard on Friday I decided to continue with painting in the bedroom. I emptied one closet and then got stuck because I couldn't remove the doors. I admit to getting so frustrated I had to leave the house. LOL

Went to visit a store called Five Below. For anyone with college age kids who deserve care packages, this place is a mecca. Candy, socks, sports stuff, make-up, toys, Ipod accessories, etc. All under $5. Someone had clued me into the Fiskars paper trimmers for $5 and I've tried other trimmers, but like this one best. Mine needed replacing.

Yesterday DH removed closet doors for me from both closets. But I had a freaking migraine. Nearly all day.

Once it finally lifted, DS was at an interesting cross country meet - a cross country relay race that continues in the dark. Everyone runs 2,500 meters - 5 people to a team. He didn't get home until late. Which meant DH and I went out to dinner. Alone. Amazing. Tried Bonefish Grill for the first time. I liked it. And then we stopped by Kohl's to buy him a couple of new shirts and ties. Came home to switch back and forth between the Red Sox/Yankees and Army football vs. Texas A & M. Both teams I was rooting for lost, but they were good games.

Oh yeah. And UNH football. Awesome. 62-7. Let's go all the way!

Located: One Electric Carving Knife

I got the last one on the shelf at Wally-World for the grand price of $9.73. I was a little leary because the package had been resealed with tape. (Last time this happened to me at this store, I had purchased a vacuum that was missing it's hose and handle.), but it's all there. I think someone may have purchased it, used it for cutting upholstery foam and then returned it. A thought that never would have crossed my mind except the package had been opened. But I have no intention of doing that myself.

So the goal is to put together the headboard by the end of the weekend.

Woke up at 4 a.m. and knew I wasn't going to fall right to sleep. And I knew my reading light needed batteries. I got up and laid done with my book in my DD's room. Which was all good and fine, until I fell back asleep. That's when Two Ton Tony figured out there was a light on. Nothing like a headbut from a 20 lb. cat sitting on your chest to wake you back up. He was all love, love, love, love, love, love. Bite.

I think it's time for more coffee. And the sun is actually trying to put in a very welcome appearance. I'm beginning to feel like I live in Seattle.

I just don't understand blogger

Sometimes it just seems like it's been taken over by poltergeists.

Since 8/30 I can not see any of my new posts from my own blog via the "View Blog" button. Rather annoying, that. As I usually check for spelling/grammar/factual errors the next time I post.

In the continuing cold spell - yesterday I made Italian Wedding Soup, Rosemary Foccacia, and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Today - maybe clean out the cheese in the fridge with some homemade mac n cheese. DS has a cross-country meet so I am sure he'd appreciate it. But that means making it this morning as I have to bring him to the meet. No bus to this one, 'cause it's local. Of course we are looking at showers on and off all day and a high of 66 degrees. A pleasant day for a runner - not so pleasant for an observer.

I've tried to get an electric carving knife off freecycle. But alas. I fear it is not to be. Still laughing about the woman who said she had one, then tore her house apart looking for it, only to question her DH and find he'd already given it away to his sister. I wonder if wally-world has them?

Did I Mention

That we bought a new computer chair? High-backed brown leather. Executive classy. Still a little stiff, but a huge improvement over the cheap chair whose padding was non-existent.

Okay. Now that summer seems to have disappeared, I've already jumped into winter cooking mode. Last night was pot roast and gravy with potatoes and carrots. Last week was meatloaf and chili. Tonight is soup night as DH has chorale group rehearsels on Tuesdays. But what I'd really like to know is where the bleep the warm weather went. We are running 15-20 degrees below normal here. I AM NOT READY FOR WINTER.

Now on to organzing an EGA group correspondence course. Um. Why did I say yes to this?

Saturday - Kings Dominion

Does anyone really call this place Paramount's Kings Dominion who isn't forced to by their job?

Now - for the details.

Allowing time for DD who is reading this at college to get jealous.

Hi, sweetie!



First, it was morning surrounded by her favorite type - tall, skinny cross country runners. (Not so pale here in Virginia as they are in New York.)

DS had a respectable run time and seriously wants to get it faster. If it doesn't rain on Wednesday, I'll go the meet with the camera. Need photos as they are looking sharp in their new Puma racing flats.

Coach fortunately let us duck out as the varsity girls were running the last race. Which is good, 'cause there was an accident on I-95 on our way to Richmond. Quelle surprise.

Nothing but coasters...

First up was the Hurler, a wooden coaster built in the 90's. Rough ride. Was not impressed. Glad we did this one first.

Second - Ricochet - a four-person car similiar to Mousetrap (where was that?) The switchbacks up that high are kind of cool.

Third - Rebel Yell - a wooden dual racing coaster - Forwards - Nice out and back - good airtime. Long and satisfying. Backwards - Very interesting. I liked forwards better.

Fourth - Anaconda - steel coaster. Great design. Nice speed. Good loops and nice corkscew. Rode it twice.

Fifth - the Volcano - Long wait in line, over an hour. But worth it. Steel, hanging coaster. My favorite ride of the day. That's some speed. Launches you straight up out of the Volcano.

Sixth - the Shockwave - a stand-up steel coaster. Good job for an older coaster.

Seventh - I didn't ride it, but the boys went on the Hypersonic XLC. Air compressed launch 0-80 in 1.8 seconds. Most people don't even make a sound on this ride. 'Cause they can't. LOL Boys loved it.

Eighth - The Grizzly - 1980's wooden coaster. This may be the fastest wooden coaster we've ever been on. Will have to check. Really got slammed around in the tunnel.

That's the coaster reviews for the day. Did not wait in line for the Italian Job. Next year. Best part - free tickets so we only paid for parking and 2 bottles of water.

Brief Hiccup in transmissions

But I'm back now.


DS's first cross-country race is this morning. And he overslept. Didn't miss the bus, but one of his contacts wasn't right. And he didn't have time to eat anything. And he forgot his waterbottle in the car. We need to leave in a hour to go see this race.

Then it's off to Kings Dominion for a company day of fun and picnics.

I did start the Goode Huswif's Black Forest this week. It's on black with pretty needlepoint silks. Fun, fun! Got about 2 hours work into it. I was drawn to this by the colors - muted autumn tones of golds, browns, greens, and reds.

Writing about that piece reminds me of the last Goode Huswif I did. Also on black. I need to figure out a way to afford framing. My stash of finished, but unframed objects is huge.

Headboard

Anna asked about my headboard plans. Having watched this innumerable times on home improvement type shows, I feel confindent I can do this without detailed instructions.

I have a piece of plywood that's been cut 36" high by the width of our bed. After ascertaining DH's preferences, I'm going with rounding my corners. I think for doing this, I'm going to make a pattern on paper first and that way both sides will be the same. I've got two inch foam to cover the plywood - using spray adhesive to make it stick. Will then trim the foam to match the plywood. Then will cover this all with batting that is stapled on the back of the plywood. Next a layer of muslin stapled to the back. The reason for this is if I decide in the future to change the fabric, it's easier to remove and recover if there's a muslin layer. Finally my fabric choice which I found last fall. It's a taupe colored fabric with embroidered flowers done in the same color as the fabric. Finally, I will cut two support legs from the leftover plywood and screw them to the headboard. I am trying to decided if I wanted to make fabric covered buttons or not. I can always drill holes in the plywood and add the buttons later if I think more detail would be better.

That's the plan. I'm still trying to find an electric carving knife via freecycle for cutting the foam. I had one, but the lady emailed me back and said she'd tore her house apart looking for it, only to find her husband had given it to his sister. LOL

sbq of the week

Good question.

I know I've used questionable storing practices over the years. Once upon a time, I only had fabric for the project I was working on. Then I got a deal on yard of Belfast linen. Then I got a deal on some fiddler's cloth. Then I returned stateside and found needlework stores. And more deals. I'd buy small pieces of pretty linens for ornaments. I'd buy large pieces for what I working on and save the leftover bits. I've even had people give me fabric. Then I'd buy fabric when I didn't find anything else I needed. First, it all fit nicely in a plastic shopping bag from In Stitches in Alexandria. Then it moved into an antique trunk along with bags of fibers and my patterns. Then things moved into an antique bureau, so the fabric had its own drawer. Now my fabric is in a large Rubbermaid tote. The aida tends to stay on the bottom. The linens and evenweaves float to the top. Some of it is wrapped in acid free tissue paper (that really expensive Italian stuff.)

It's funny that I don't feel any compelling desire to organize it better. Right now I enjoy going through the entire collection to see if I can find anything I can use when I start a new project. It's almost a walk down memory lane looking at the leftover pieces of fabric that match pieces I've done. I did eventually learn to label my fabric, unless it's a really small piece. I write what it is on a piece of paper and pin it to the fabric.

Ernesto

They are predicting 6-10 inches of rain from this storm here in metro D.C.
Lovely. What happened to summer?

If I put on some bug spray, I could go outside and finally dig those bricks into the ground in the backyard. It's definitely cool enough for yard work as we expecting a high of 75 today. Which would also make this a good day for cooking. And I've got a desire for a chocolate cream pie.

Also bought my plywood and foam yesterday to make my headboard. And paint for the ceiling of my bedroom. And paint for the closets in the bedroom. Just continuing on with the same color used on 3 of the walls - Vanilla Steam. I didn't know that they make ceiling paint that goes on purple and dries white - so that you don't miss any spots. How clever.

the "piece"

 

This one nearly killed all desire for stitching. I did not pick it out. It was a gift my MIL. Hated the colors. Did not enjoy stitching it. Finished it while living at Ft. Ord in CA so that was probably 1995.

I didn't stitch for more than a year after I finished this piece. And that's when I resolved to only stitch for me. I stopped making gifts for other people. Though now I occasionally do something, it is no longer my priority to stitch gifts. Now I stitch what I love. 

major needlepoint piece

 

Did this in 1982-1983 for my then boyfriend's parents. They became my in-laws in '84. I still love this piece. 

There and Back Again

DD has officially started her second year of college. Somehow everything worked out - from the packing of the car to the purchase of the mini-fridge.

I had a horrendous drive from Worcester to Virginia yesterday. Took 10 1/2 hours. Rain and too many cars. Not a good mix.

Off to catch up on laundry. And shopping. And all the other things.

I swear

that I posted yesterday.

But I don't see anything here.

Very strange.

What's Up

Shopping. Packing. Changing oil and getting new wipers blades before return to college road trip.

Went to Shenandoah Nat'l Park on Sunday for one last family outing. My legs still hurt when I walk down the stairs.

We had watched the Feasting on Asphalt marathon on Saturday and so we searched for our own "road food" on our way home Sunday. Found a wonderful place called the Frost Cafe in downtown Culpepper. A cash only business which is usually a sign of good things. Food was terrific. I had Virginia grilled ham with potato salad and lima beans. But my choice of regular ice tea, not sweet tea, always betrays where I'm from.

It will be an early morning hit the road before 6 a.m. tomorrow. Not looking forward to driving. Even more fun will be packing the car. LOL

rats

Our plans for sharing the Red Sox/Yankees game today with fellow New Englanders fell through. Rats. I was looking forward to company.

But meanwhile I've got some beef short ribs marinating. And I went to the farmer's market this morning. Came home with corn, tomatoes, cukes, zucchini, green beans, artichokes, black raspberries, peaches, and honey. Good haul. I didn't even know anyone grew artichokes here in the mid-Atlantic states. Yeah! These are the little ones and if people are nice to me, maybe I'll cook them like they do at the street fairs around the central coast of CA - trimmed, quartered, battered and fried!

Plans are to leave on Wed. to bring DD back to school. Let's just hope she doesn't explode with excitement before we get to NH. Or maybe she'll implode. I'm not sure.

Cheers to the NESN Feed

Thank Bob we had the NESN feed the other night when Dennis Leary and Lenny Clark showed up in the booth. It was so funny we had to find it again on the web. NESN keeps making YouTube take it down - LOL. If anyone needs to look for this clip - try searching for Dennis Leary and Mel Gibson. I thought Jerry Remy was going to cough up a lung.

Today the evil empire comes to town for a five game stretch over the next four days. Tonight the Red Sox will either be in sole possession of first place, 3 1/2 games back, or still 1 1/2 games back. I'm rooting for the first possibility.

X-country continues to wipe out my son. As he was falling asleep in the recliner yesterday, I told him to go upstairs and nap. But no. He slept there for 3 hours while I played music, hung a pot rack in the kitchen, used the drill to hang shelves in the kitchen, vacuumed and in general banged pots and pans around making much noise.

Here's a recommendation for John Grogan's book Marley and Me. I should have known better than to be reading towards the end of this book at bedtime. Had me crying and all stuffed up so I couldn't breathe. But mostly the book is funny.

Never Got to the Wallpaper Border

Hey. It was a good thought. Just ran out of time and energy the past two days.

DS finally cut hair for the cross country season. Looks good. But he feels nekkid. All the glorious curls will grow back. Quickly.

Now a I need to create a menu as we're having some fellow New Englanders over on Saturday to watch the Red Sox/Yankees game. Last time they were here we did flank steak, rice salad, corn and black bean salsa, and sesame green beans. I punted desert that day and just had cookies and ice cream. I've been thinking about this all week and I'm still short of inspiration.

New Skill of the Day

I learned how to change the blade on a coping saw. I guess I wasn't supposed to buy one of these saws that came with 4 additional blades unless I already knew how to change the blade. 'Cause they don't give you a hint on how to do it. Google groups to the rescue. All the other websites just wanted to sell me a saw.

Off to use my saw then I think I'll try to remove the wallpaper border in the kitchen. I can't believe I've let it stay there this long. It just screams not me!

Still Suffering Back Issues

But I got my plants in the ground on Saturday anyway. And I weeded. And did some pruning. Which is when I realized that my boxwoods have powdery mildew. ?????????
Now how come under the less-than-benign neglect of the former owner, these things were fine. And for me, someone who cares, I get problems? It's not because we've been having too much rain. This is not good cosmic karma stuff.

Friday night went to see the Air Force jazz band. And in between sets I wandered into William Sonama to see what's new and to be envied. I came out with 2 cookbooks. One on ice cream and the other is the Le Creuset cookbook. Both published in 2005 - both cost me $3.99. My bargain of the week. I guess I should go put my ice cream maker in the freezer.

And on the whole topic of cooking - on Saturday while I was out front playing in the yard and listening to the Red Sox vs. O's on the radio, my DH was out back in the gazebo smoking a cigar and watching the game on the TV he dragged out there. When I got too hot, I came in and popped the game on. And that's when I realized my DH was no longer watching the Red Sox. He was outside watching Jacques Pepin's Fast Food My Way. Came in and announced that when he takes up a cooking, and that he will take up cooking, he's gonna cook like Jacques. I can hardly wait. LOL

Yesterday we went in to the city with intention of going to the Spy Museum after a quick tour around the new exhibits at the National Building Museum. We spent way more time in the building museum than we planned. Saw the Green House exhibit, and an exhibit on Frank Lloyd Wright's Price Tower. Decided we took too much time and couldn't do the Spy Museum justice, so we went off to show the kids the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. It's just such an interesting piece of architecture. This byzantium dome and lots of gold decorations. And a gift shop that has glow in the dark crucifixes and Pietas. Nothing like crass commercialism and the Catholic faith. Did I mention the Bible Bars? You can google them to see for yourself.

Back at Fenway

Glad they are back in Boston. Had tremendous fun watching the Mike Lowell show last night. Unfortunately we are watching the O's feed. I am starting to wonder which team those announcers want to win. It was all love for the Red Sox. Bizarre, but I'll take it.

Sitting here not good for my back. I can feel that pain radiating down my right hip.

And the stupid award of the day goes to whoever was dumb enough to run into a big blue dumpster yesterday around 5:00 p.m. just down from our house. That van is a goner. But the dumpster looks fine. Must have been going too fast. Too many idiots with drivers licenses....

Back

Great. I woke up at 2:30 yesterday and went downstairs to read. Fell asleep on the couch and woke up with my back protesting. It's still protesting today. Even though the weather is perfect for me to go pop those plants in the ground, I don't know if I should. Maybe I can talk someone into assisting? Oh, darling daughter...

Oh - the phone call from Samuel was a nice touch. He was telling to stop messing in the kitchen just as I was melting sugar for flan. Snakes on a Plane. My grandmother would freak.


favorite headline of the morning -

Huckabee Jams at Pig Roast

Huckabee jam. Sounds interesting. Especially if you can serve it with roast pig.

favorite headline of the morning

Traffic Stop Yields Crack, Rubies, and Gold

I wanna write newspaper headlines. LOL

Crack, rubies, and gold, oh my!

Or is it - Crack, Rubies, and Gold - the new outfield for the Yankees?

'Kay. Enough being mean.

Managed to go to Fort Myer this week without getting rearended. That's a plus.
DD and I did some college shopping - new umbrella, poker chips, stapler, post-it notes, etc. All the college essentials. Had lunch at our favorite deli, the Celebrity Dely in Falls Church. That is the best corned beef ever! Wasn't prepared for the fact that half the shopping center had been ripped apart for renovations. And Loehman's had moved over into the side with Linens and Things which is totally missing.

I was planning on planting some irises that a neighbor gave me and a brown-eyed susan this morning, but it's been pouring for two hours. Poor DS is at cross country practice in this. I feel bad, but not that bad. Builds character. Guess I should go do housework and build character...

Bedroom Work Continues

Yesterday I went out early looking for new lamps. I think I found some that my DH is absolutely going to detest. LOL I framed a beautiful print we have called Path to the Sea - it's China Cove at Point Lobos in Carmel, CA. I wanted to hang this on the wall opposite the bed. But then I tried it over the bed on the wall that is painted blue, and wow! It is too beautiful not to hang it there. I'm sorry I will no longer get to lie and bed and stare at it.

I repainted a pair of plaster wall sconces I have that were gold toned. Now they are silver, with silver leaf highlights. Much improved. I gessoed a canvas and painted 4 wooden picture frames (these were 2 for $1 at IKEA last year.) I have a plan for the canvas. But it involves my handwriting and I am not always happy with how my handwriting looks. Still nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Now I'm waiting for DD to shower. We're still in acquisition mode for things she needs before heading back to college.

Lady in the Water

Better than the Village. Not quite as good as Signs or the Sixth Sense. But highly satisfying. Great soundtrack. And I loved the set decor everytime you saw another apartment. But made me wonder what Reggie's apartment looks like. And I think the marketing was way off on this movie. They tried to make you wonder whether she was good or evil. Duh. And they didn't let you know that this movie has humor in it. Which might explain why only my family was laughing in the theater.

Mountain Bikers

 

Yes. I've purposely left their faces in shadow. That's my son on the left and his friend after mountain biking in two different states in one day. 

painting part deux

When I opened that can of blue paint yesterday I asked myself what kind of fool was I?
That color, Office Blue, looked like baby boy blue. Yuck! But then I decided to trust my decision and started cutting in. This paint, thankfully, dried much darker. Phew. I was afraid I was going back to Lowe's. In between coats, I did go back to Lowe's. I forgot I needed a blank switchplate and I picked up a new phone jack in silver to match the rest of the room. Also bought a coping saw because I removed the vertical blinds in the kitchen but couldn't remove all the hardware from the wall. I'm just gonna cut through those screws and plaster over the holes. The bedroom looks so much better. I'm thinking a window scarf can help me camoflauge the hardware at the top of the blinds until I can afford to buy nice wooden blinds. We've got sliding windows onto the balcony in the bedroom and I'm not removing the vertical blinds unless I have a good way to block out light - as much as I abhor vertical blinds - I like sleeping in dark rooms more.

We're off to see Lady in the Water as DH took today off to recoup from his weekend drive to Conneticut.

Painting

Yesterday the children and I painted three walls of my bedroom a color called Vanilla Steam. In the subdued bedroom light last night, I wouldn't have known the walls were painted except that they look clean. It's the color of coffee with way too much milk to even be called cafe au lait. But you can see a difference against the white baseboard.

Today they kids have gone off on their mountain biking adventure and I'm left to paint the fourth wall - a blue color called prosaically Office Blue.

We even went out last night and bought blue jeans and bras for the returning to college girl. Then stopped by Lowe's and bought new floor registers and new switch plates. Plans are to finally do the headboard this week and maybe actually hang stuff on the walls. That could be interesting.

Something Told Me

To go to Ikea yesterday. Almost turned around because of traffic problems on the Beltway. But didn't. And I'm glad I didn't.

We were contemplating buying DD a small Billy bookcase for her dorm room - the $39.99 one. And decided I'd look some other places first. But then we went into the As Is room. And there were 2 of the short Billy bookcases - a 24" one like DD wanted and a 36" one. And we got them both for $9.99 a piece. $100 worth of bookcases for $20! I placed the short 36" inch on by my tall one in the living room and that really balances things out. Yeah for bargains at IKEA!

Now onto to painting. Again.

mountain biking

No. Not me.

But DS got up early, which was okay 'cause I knew hubby would wake me up anyway before he left for a family reunion in CT. So I drove DS to a mountain biking haven in Maryland. Fortunately it's a Friday in the summer and the traffic on the beltway at 7:00 a.m wasn't that heavy.

While waiting for DS, I did the sudoku. I did the crossword puzzle. I read some Russian poetry in translation. I took a walk on the bike paths. Then I got out my needlepoint. This was a fact-finding trip for DS before he takes his sister and some friends there tomorrow. Came home. Made breakfast. And while watching a Nova rerun of David Attenborough's show on bower birds, we both fell asleep. LOL

But now my brain seems frazzled again. And my original plans are out the window. oh well.

Fast

Got my Mazda back yesterday. Bumper looks brand new. And they nicely cleaned the interior. Yeah! (It's definitely too hot to be outside vacuuming a car!)

We went in and out of too many places yesterday and the change from hot to cold to hot really fried my brain. It wouldn't be so bad if the temperature differential wasn't so great.

Did pick up V for Vendetta and all 3 Kevin Costner baseball movies.
That's right, three.
You know Bull Durham.
And Field of Dreams.

Now, do you remember the last one?

Has the line "Close the mechanism."

For the Love of the Game.

what the world has come to

At the car rental place yesterday they were out of regular sized cars. Agent asks if it's okay to upgrade me to an SUV. And spends the rest of his time apologizing profusely having to give me a Ford Explorer. I drove about 30 miles in it and I swear you can watch the gas gauge drop. LOL

My teenagers actually got up early yesterday to go mountain biking. They left at 8:00 a.m! That is amazing. Today is a day off, which is a good thing. It was already 80 at 6 a.m. But they think they want to go do this again tomorrow. I think they are nuts. And no warnings are needed about proper hydration, so don't bother.

Yesterday I finished reading "The Historian." That was good. Worth my time. Satisfying. Might be a better winter read, though. We went to the library yesterday to return books and I was going to renew this book, but the parking lot was full. It seems people do flock there to escape the heat.

I will spend the day crossing fingers that we don't have any power outages, because that would just be miserable.

mad at myself

I started writing something last October and I password protected it in MSWord and now I can't remember the password. I thought I had it written down, but that's not working. I've tried every variation of passwords I can think of. I really, really want to retrieve this piece of writing. I am such an idiot.

But on the positive side, there is nothing like watching Big Papi hit those walk-off homers to end the game. Ortiz, you da man!

Off to shower and on the car place to get my poor little Mazda fixed.

My Mistake

My mistake was posting about boring things.

To correct that, some chiclette rearended me today. DS and I were wearing our seatbelts and are not hurt in the least. And fortunately said chiclette wasn't going fast because one little Mazda Protege does not stack up well with a Ford pick up truck. Not a mark on her truck. And a damaged bumper for me. And time spent talking to insurance companies. And time spent getting an appraisal. And a rental car. Ad nauseum.

I was at a complete stop at a yield sign waiting for a break in traffic. I don't know what she was thinking. Young. Husband is enlisted. Could have been worse.

As we drove away, my 17 year old said - I didn't know what was going on. I thought it was an earthquake. LOL

Just Trying to Be Consistent with Posting

Nothing really interesting to say. What a surprise.

Had another lazy Sunday. Read the paper, fiddled on the 'puter, watched Sunday Morning, watered the plants, made brunch, did the dishes, ordered pizza for supper. See did nothing. Cleaned up the desk in my bedroom 'cause maybe I'll start scrapbooking again.

No controversy. No vents. How boring.

Meeting Day

Still officially in love with EGA meetings. So nice to be surrounded by other people who have that same attraction to fibers and needles and fabrics.

We had an "estate" sale yesterday and I picked up 27 back issues of the ANG magazine! That's it. I am officially going over to the dark side - needlepoint. Also volunteered to work with youth outreach when that gets started.

I brought my Inro piece with me to work on as I had decided not to splurge the bucks on the class being offered. I may be the farthest along on stitching this piece of those of us in the pilot class.

I feel badly about not going to seminar in October. But hey. It's expensive. And at the moment I'm learning enough new stuff to keep me occupied. I may sign up for a Judy Jeroy crewel class for next year to alleviate my bad feelings. LOL

Better

This morning I'm feeling better. Haven't needed to take Ibuprofen yet even. But I can still feel inflamation in my throat.

Going to be another hot one. I'm tentatively planning on making the kids make supper. But I'm also waiting for DH to call to tell me if he's bringing a friend home for supper. In which case, I guess I'm cooking and the kids can cook tomorrow - which might be a better plan as I've got an all day EGA meeting tomorrow. Nothing like a day spent stitching and talking. I am so looking forward to it.

Did not stitch a stitch with a needle yesterday. Instead pulled out my lap rug and crochet hook. If I ever finish this, the cat will be in heaven. He loves things made with yarn.

I wonder how many of us spend time typing things and then delete it? I just edited a major story here. No one would think it's as funny as my family did. And it might actually create a mistaken impression or two. That internal editor is awake and kicking this morning.

Yuck

A summer cold?!?!? This, quite frankly, sucks. (and I hope I didn't send any germs back to Tennessee)

But I did manage a few hours yesterday on the background on my Inro project. Took about 2 hours to get into the rhythm of the stitch - called diagonal Hungarian something or other. Now I can see it to count it. In the beginning, it was a little difficult. And there is a spot where I miscounted between clouds, but it's not noticable. Never did get to watch Brokeback, though. Maybe today?

Spaghetti Fritatta

Let's all sing along - spaghetti fritatta, spaghetti fritatta - like Hakuna matatta.

I really should learn Italian.

Fritatta and shrimp scampi. Mmmmm! That was a good meal.

Tonight it is just me and the teenagers as DH is going to a baseball game afer work. I'm thinking some kind of curry thanks to Good Eats last night. And speaking of Alton Brown, how the heck did I miss the fact that he was at the National History Museum on Monday night? We were in that museum on Sunday. I didn't see anything. I read the paper every day. I didn't see anything. Sigh.

Not planning much for today. I am apparently fighting off a sore throat. IB keeps knocking the inflamation down to a manageable level. But the throat and head start to hurt every 2-3 hours. I guess it's a good day to finally watch Brokeback Mountain. But I'm not sure I can stitch through this movie and I want to keep working on my Inro piece before our Saturday EGA meeting.