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*