On the edge of seventeen

If you're looking for adventure, thrills, and a surplus of adrenaline, and you can't get to your local rollercoaster, you get your fix by a very simple method.

Teach a teenager to drive.

Last night I took my stepson out driving for a short while along some backroads. He's still not quite used to my car (a Saturn wagon) and seems to overestimate the width, but he actually does okay. One of the roads we were on has large drainage ditches along the sides (as do many roads here, actually) and I was mildly worried about ending up in one of them. But to his credit he did very well, and was very cautious. He actually handles curves fairly well, which was a pleasant surprise.

The first time he was behind the wheel of my car was in my company parking lot. Now that caused me a few grey hairs. At one point, he was trying to park and bumped up against a concrete wheel barrier. DD, who was in the back seat, reached up and grabbed the OS handle and held on. Talk about a vote of no-confidence! Still, one has to learn to drive somehow. Where I live, the DMV requires that teen drivers have had 50 hours behind the wheel (10 at night) before they'll upgrade a learners to a provisional license. I think that's a smart thing, personally. I just had to take a short driving test to get my license where I grew up.

I did much of teaching my stepdaughter to drive as well, and while doing so I realized that, like life, there is a point when you need to learn to trust them more and not hold on so tightly. For DsD's driving, that moment came when I was letting her drive home from a store and it started pouring rain. Now, I personally dislike driving through torrential rains - it terrifies me - but she remained very calm and drove very well through it. I was very impressed. And I let her drive more on main roads after that. But I still got a few grey hairs from the experience.

Speaking of DsD, she'll be 17 this weekend. Hard to believe...in some ways it seems like only yesterday she was my DD's age, and now she's actually a (mostly) responsible young adult.
(And I know she reads my blog sometimes, so happy birthday to her! )

I did get a chance to stitch for an hour last night. While watching hockey, of course! I didn't watch all of the Sharks-Avs game (I do need to sleep, after all), but what I saw was good. So much for the sweep, though - Avalanche won in OT. But the Leafs won their game, so that's some progress toward a game 7!

I also got some very good work-related news today, so I've been in a great mood all day . I'm also planning on going to my favorite Irish pub to celebrate with the family for dinner tonight. Gonna get myself some good food, and a hard cider or two.

Sláinte!

Escapism

So other than a less-than-positive weigh-in at Curves yesterday, last night was relaxing. I got to stitch for an hour, and watched playoff hockey. Well, I had my stitching out for well over an hour, but counting child-driven interrupts ("Mom, read me a story!") I only actually put needle in fabric for about an hour. And no frogs this time!

The Lightning game had an exciting ending. With Montreal up 3-2, Tampa scored with 17 seconds remaining to send it into OT. Free hockey! A minute in, a Tampa player shot, grabbed the rebound, and bounced it off the goalie's skate from behind to win. The Lightning now lead the series 3-0. Doubt it'll be a sweep, though it would be nice. I'd also like to see the Sharks sweep the Avalanche - that could be cool as well. However, I'd like the Flyers-Leafs series to go to 7 games. Game 7s are cool....and it would leave the series winner more tired than the Lightning (assuming, of course, that series doesn't also go to a game 7).

Ah, I love playoff hockey. And not just because of playoff beards!

So I'm 22 days away from our big overseas trip, and I've already started thinking about what to pack, how to protect our valuables, and the like. I am very much looking forward to this trip. And don't worry, dear readers. You will hear all about it when I return. It should keep me in blog entries for quite a while.

The whole kitting caboodle*

* Someone once pointed out that my name is an anagram of "bad line". I feel, therefore, that I am allowed, nay, obligated to pun.

Ah, amazing what a little stitching can do for my (admittedly tenuous) sanity! I got to stitch for about an hour last night while watching the Sharks-Avalanche game. I unfortunately had to do a wee bit of frogging - picked up the wrong shade of flesh because I misread the symbol beside the needle. Fortunately I didn't get too far before I discovered the error, so it was only a small frog. Hopefully I'll get a chance to stitch more tonight, preferably during the Lightning-Habs game.
GO BOLTS!

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Stitcher's Five - 4/26
1. Which do you prefer, Kits or Charts?
Usually charts, though for some designs I will get prepackaged accessory packs of specialty threads or embellishments if available.

2. Why?
I like to be able to substitute fabric or threads. When I first started stitching on evenweave, I'd get kits because I didn't know where to get the fabric otherwise. Now I know places to get my fix. So, I will usually get the chart instead of the kit unless the materials are very hard to find or too expensive to acquire individually.
There's also the issue that many kit flosses are of inferior quality.

3. How do you organise your materials before you stitch?
I use holepunched strips of cardboard or cardstock to organize my floss (in numeric order). If the designer has approved a single-use copy, I make a copy and put each page in a sheet protector. (I shred the copy when done). I then store the floss, design, material, and any other extras such as beads in a manila envelope.

4. Do you do anything to the sides of your fabric before starting?
I used to tape the edges, but I got a tiny serger about a year ago that I now use for securing the edges. Some online stores pre-serge fat quarters of fabric, so if my design is already large enough to take up most of the fat quarter, I don't bother cutting the fabric down.

5. What do you do with the leftovers when your done?
I usually save them in a box, unless it's cheapo kit floss. For pieces I've kitted up myself, I've used a whole skein of DMC for each color when kitting, so for future kittings I can go back and use the leftovers. After all, it can take one quite a number of pieces to use up a skein of fleshtone :)

And now that I think on it, maybe cheapo kit floss could be useful for children's crafts...

Roll the bones...

First things first - thanks to all of you for your support! My mom came home Saturday and is back to normal. She arrived home the same day as her Mother's Day gift. So not only did she get to come home, she got stash as well!

So my grand plan for this weekend was to hit Curves for the third time in a week, stitch, and watch playoff hockey. I did technically meet all three objectives - got up at 8am Saturday morning and went for a workout.

But somehow I only managed to stitch for an hour and watch only a little bit of hockey - not even a complete game. The rest of the weekend got frittered away into a birthday party, bills, laundry...I'm sure you know how it goes.

We did game Sunday afternoon. DH and I and a couple of friends have had a weekly RPG session for over a decade, though the particular gamesystems we've used have varied over time. (I probably should clarify that we're pencil-and-paper RPGers - with the proliferation of online games, many people tend to assume 'gaming' means Everquest or similar. DH and I have both been on MuSHes from time to time, and made some friends there, but we've not done that in years). Our current campaign (which is near a wrap-up point) uses the new Buffy the Vampire Slayer ruleset, and is set in the 1950's Midwest. Over the past decade we've played AD&D (often in the Ravenloft or Birthright gameworlds), Champions (multiple campaigns here, including an "X-Files" one), Star Trek (multiple here as well), and Chaosium's Elric! and Call of Cthulhu rulesets. DH prefers Chaosium's rulesets, since it uses percentile-based skills. Everyone but me has had at least one shot at GMing - I don't feel a pressing need to run a game, and I'm often devoid on ideas anyway.

I will say that the old myth about the GM's wife being the most powerful PC in any campaign is bull. At least with us - DH plays fair when he GMs.

Though there are times when loaded dice might come in handy!

A day in the life

It's Friday! Still haven't stitched since this past weekend. I *almost* made it to Curves yesterday, but one of my contacts started irritating something fierce, so I went home and changed into glasses, after which it was really too late to get to Curves (the local one closes at 7, and I got off work after 6 yesterday). Still, I should be able to get there tonight and tomorrow. It'll be great if I can - I haven't had a 3-workout week in months...

I was able to get to some web updates last night (I do some freelance web development on the side) now that we have another computer. I haven't worked on my virtual castle in almost a year, though. Maybe someday I'll get a chance to put all my thoughts down. Part of it is getting it all organized in my head - once I have a good mental picture, writing it will be fairly straightforward.

And a mix of good and bad news. Good news is that I finally finished all the preparations for DD's 5th birthday party next month - invites are written and dispatched, indoor playground/party place is booked, pinata is stuffed. Just need to wait for the RSVPs to flow in.

The bad news is that my mom went into the hospital yesterday. No word yet on what's wrong with her. My dad doesn't seem to be much worried (but could be hiding it). My sister is worried, and I'm not sure which cue to take from that. On one hand, she's a medical secretary and is aware of what the 'worst case' scenarios could be. On the other hand, she's a bit of a worrywart. At the moment I'm not too worried, but then I have insufficient data. So, if you're reading this, and you're the type to pray, please pray for my mom. If you're not the praying type, good thoughts or vibes would be appreciated.

And be thankful I didn't post any poetry today!

Hiraeth...

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.
~St. Augustine (courtesy of quotegarden.com)

I love to travel. I have been fortunate over the past decade to have had the opportunity to travel to Europe on several occasions. I've been to Prague and Stockholm (both on business), and to the UK thrice on vacation. We were in London for the millenium celebrations, and had spent the previous week in Scotland, and in a previous year had been through central and southern England.

Our most recent trip, and my favorite to date, has been to Wales, where we spent a week two summers ago. We rented a small vacation place right on the coast in Pembrokeshire, and from there made daytrips to visit castles, abbeys, and other historical sites. I think the three of us (me, DH, and a family friend) visited over 30 different places over the week, and DH and I took over 700 pictures.

I love visiting castles. There's just something deeply awe-inspiring about standing in the remains of a building many centuries old and being able to almost see how life was like back then, or to run your hands across stone that was placed there nearly a millenium in the past. Looking out from towers or wallwalks, you can visualize how the defenses work. And often, especially in Wales, the castles are quite spectacularly sited. Some of the very old Welsh-built castles (as opposed to ones erected by the English later) overlook rather breathtaking vistas - verdant fields, rivers, mountains. Two of the most beautiful examples are Castell Y Bere and Cilgerran. The remains of Bere are on a hill at the intersection of several valleys. From there one gets quite a vantage point of the surrounding area. And Cilgerran overlooks the Teifi river - there's a small village right beside the castle, but the surrounding countryside was relatively unspoiled. And there were so many other places as well....my office wall is covered with postcards of the sites we've visited.

Castles aside, I believe that Wales is one of the most beautiful places on earth. The mountains, the forests, the coast...we saw some of the most striking sunsets while we were there. God must live in Wales (although my priest maintains He lives in Ireland!).

Recently we acquired a new computer for home, and we adopted a castles naming scheme. Looking through our vacation pictures for appropriate desktop backgrounds increases my yearning to go back.

The Welsh have a word to describe this - hiraeth. It is no surprise to me that such a place could evoke such feelings.

hiraeth: an intense longing from the soul for 'home.' A feeling of connection to a place different from the place of sojourn. The inner element that calls the person afflicted by hiraeth to return home.

words, words, words.....words!

Well, I had a cool idea for today's entry, but I don't know if I have time to write it up for today. Tomorrow, hopefully, I'll be able to get to it.

Meanwhile, you, my dear unsuspecting readers, will be inflicted with some of my poetry. I wrote this about 7-8 years ago. Fortunately for you all, I only have a handful of poems around - I burned most of my adolescent poetry when I was 18. I regret it now, because there may have been some gems in there, but what's done is done. And I think the few poems I do have are a bit better. I hope.


Words

It is said that words are magic,
for with them we can paint vibrant pictures
or recall the past to the present
or evoke emotions long-buried
from our innermost souls.

It is said that words have power
to harm or to heal
to create or destroy
and bring about change in the world.

Ah, but what are words but empty air?
What good are they
when i cannot use them
to tell my dreams,
my fears,
my hopes
when i reach for them and find them gone?

A time in stitch...

Didn't stitch last night, but I did get to Curves (yay!) and watched a pair of Game 7's. The Calgary-Vancouver game was very interesting toward the end...especially the tying goal with under 6 seconds left! Definitely an exciting end.

DD made me a card last night - hand-drawn flowers, and she'd written "mom" on it. I've never seen her write anything other than her own name before, and I was very touched. Awwww.

Anyway, without further ado, here are this week's Stitcher's Five.

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Stitcher's Five 4/19 - Specialty Stitches

1. Do you like to use specialty stitches when you stitch?

Sometimes. I like to learn new things, and many specialty stitches produce interesting effects. I especially like hardanger and drawn-thread type specialty stitches. But sometimes I just prefer making all those simple little X's.

2. Can you do a perfect french knot?

Hardly. I think what I usually do is a colonial knot, which I can do okay at. I'm not perfect at those, but I can get pretty close. I think...

3. What is your favourite stitch?

I assume you mean specialty stitch. Hmmm. Well, after responding to the next question, I may have to say eyelets. Though I also like the texture and pattern of Rhodes stitches, especially given that you can do shaped versions, such as hearts and butterflies.

4. Are you currently working on any projects with specialty stitches and if so which ones?

Active WIPs...I was about to say no, but then remembered Fortunate Traveler has eyelets. LOTS of eyelets. I guess I've just gotten so used to them that I don't consciously consider eyelets to be specialty stitches! Oh, and I do have an embroidery WIP, and one could probably count anything other than satin stitch to be 'specialty'.

5. Name a specialty stitch you would most love to learn how to do.

I'd love to be able to get bullion stitches down. My few attempts (for VS Wedding Sampler) didn't turn out quite as well as I'd hoped. I'd also like to be able to do general embroidery stitches. I can do some, but the long-and-short stitch just doesn't seem to turn out right for me.

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Hockey, stitching, and cute child moments. Life is good right now.

Hot sauce - the new ketchup

It seems like everyone is putting kitschy little sayings on things nowadays. I've seen Hooters wetnaps with sayings like "Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity", or sugar packets with various quotes.

Today I stopped by Taco Bell on the way home from picking up DD at school (I know, not the healthiest choice, but a concession to having half the family rushing between commitments). DsS noticed that the hot sauce packets have sayings now. And I quote:

Hot sauce...the new ketchup

The road to mediocrity is littered with empty ketchup packets

Use your stomach, nacho mind

....and an acknowledgement that people are pack rats...

How many of these do you already have in your glove compartment?

Fortune packet, anyone?

Less work, more hockey!

This weekend was rather more relaxing than the last, which is probably just as well for my sanity! I stitched a few hours on Last Supper, took DD to an indoor playground on Saturday, and generally just sat around stitching and watching hockey. The Tampa Bay Lightning closed out their series and are moving on (GO BOLTS!!)


I've only been a hockey fan since about '95, when a Canadian friend clued me into it. I was interested, and became well and truly hooked the next year when the Florida Panthers went to the Stanley Cup Finals. Unfortunately they were swept by the Colorado Avalanche, but still, it was an impressive run, and certainly enough to light a fire in me for the ice. The past few years, the Panthers haven't been doing so well, but the Lightning have. And where I live, there's not really a local team, but the Lightning are more likely to be televised. Maybe over time I'll develop a more lasting loyalty to one or the other, though I suspect strong loyalties generally develop during childhood.

So I don't really have a single favorite team, though there are teams I will cheer for, and certainly those I will cheer against. The Dallas Stars fall into this latter category, though I do admire some of their players. I don't know, I just can't find it in myself to cheer for any team from Dallas. Comes from growing up a Redskins fan, I guess - disliking Dallas is written in my marrow.

Interesting that all 5 of the Canadian teams who went to the playoffs are involved in Game 7s over the past few days. I love Game 7 hockey. Very intense, both teams drawing on their inner reserves to advance, knowing that a loss means they go home. I'm looking forward to it, and I suspect I won't get much stitching done tonight .

A hockey fan from birth?
I went in the hospital to have DD during the Conference Finals one year, and had the doc wait until after the Sabres-Leafs game was over before I let her break my water. (DD would be 6 weeks premature, so an extra hour in utero would be good for her anyway).

I still maintain DD was early because she didn't want to miss the Finals.

Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.
- C.S. Lewis (courtesy of quotegarden.com.)
I've been a tea drinker since I was a young girl. It started with generic black tea - Red Rose, I think, was the kind my grandparents always had when I first started drinking tea. By the time I hit my teens, I would spend my evenings after school at a desk in the basement, 16-oz mug of tea in hand, writing crappy adolescent poetry. I eventually discovered Earl Grey during an RPG session, and that became my favorite tea for a long while. DH and I both still love Earl Grey, and drink it fairly often.

It wasn't until my late teens that I started drinking coffee, and not until I became thoroughly entrenched in computers that I started drinking it frequently, hot coffee being found more often than hot water for tea in company breakrooms. And I never have been able to drink coffee black. Lots of cream or milk - the real stuff, not that fake powdery junk. Generally without sugar.

But back to tea, the drink of civilized peoples everywhere.

My whole family drinks tea, even the 5-year-old. Whenever we've traveled to the UK on vacation with family friends, there's been a pot of tea around whenever anyone's been awake. Usually Tetley's, with good milk or cream. And maybe it's me, but Tetley's is far better there than the Tetley's you get in America. And I don't know how many pots a day we go through there. At home, we don't generally have a pot around, but maybe we should. Might be a good family bonding thing. I certainly have no doubt that the tea would be consumed.

When I gave up caffeine for Lent, I discovered (or perhaps rediscovered) that Celestial Seasonings has a very wide and delicious selection of herbal teas, including some relatively new flavors. Peach Apricot Honeybush is a sweet and delicate tea, and True Blueberry is very fruity. I also like the Madagascar Vanilla Red. There are a lot of their teas that I like. Now that Lent's over, I can drink caffeine again, but I'm still drinking tea. I think I've had maybe two cups of coffee this week, when before I was drinking 4-5 12-oz cups a day.

Granted, now I can drink black and green teas again, and there are some very good ones out there. Lipton has a lot of flavored green and black teas, and even Celestial Seasonings has some. So I've come full circle, and am a tea drinker again. Pass the Splenda.

Gimme five! (Stitcher's Five, that is!)

Stitchers Five - Favorite Themes

1. What is your favourite theme to stitch (i.e. primitive, fantasy, samplers, etc)

Generally, the designs that catch my eye tend toward fantasy or Celtic. Though samplers with specialty stitches are putting in more of an appearance than before. I don't like primitives at all, and never have. I don't particularly care for overly-cutesy patterns either. (Precious Moments - *gag*)

2. Has this always been your favourite theme (i.e as your tastes change)?

Depends on how far back you go. In my early teens, I collected cat patterns. Just about any cat pattern I could get my hands on. Late teens I didn't really stitch at all, and early 20s I rediscovered stitching *and* discovered several of Teresa Wentzler's dragons. So I went through a any-dragon-pattern phase. Now I'm a little pickier about my dragons, though TW is still top of my list.

3. How many WIPs/UFOS do you have currently in this theme?

Surprisingly enough, just one. TW's Fortunate Traveler.

4. And how many finished?

You mean I actually have to *think* over my lunch hour?? ;) Um, lessee...*mentally walks around her house*...five. TW's Castle, Fantasy Sampler, Castle Sampler, and Lady of Shallot; Charland Design's Tywyn Sampler (which has a Welsh dragon on it).

5. Name three favourite designs in your overall favourite theme.

I can only pick 3, huh?
TW - Castle (first TW I ever finished, made the dragon rather lovely with sparkling fibers)
TW - Fortunate Traveler
TW - Storyteller (since I have to limit myself to 3....)

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Unfortunately I didn't get to stitch last night. Was out until 8pm running errands getting ready for DD's birthday party next month. Watched a little bit of hockey (double-OT Boston-Montreal game, and watched Nashville shut out Detroit). Tonight should be more relaxing. (I know, I know, I keep saying that).
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
As you wish.

Bloginality

(thanks to Stasha for the idea - Bloginality site is at http://bloginality.love-productions.com/)

You are an ISTJ!

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As an ISTJ, you are Intraverted, Sensing, Thinking, and Judging.
This makes your primary focus on Introverted Sensing with Extraverted Thinking.

This is defined as a SJ personality, which is part of Carl Jung's Guardian (Security Seeking) type, and more specifically the Inspectors or Duty Fufiller.

As a weblogger, you may have a dependable form of posting. You may be more likely to be judgemental toward others who aren't as dependable. You may get taken advantage of in group situations because you are known as not being able to say no. Because of your respect for facts and information, you may need multiple blogs to keep all of the information sorted in your head.

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Hm. Probably pretty accurate (well, maybe not being judgmental toward others), since I've consistently tested as ISTJ on MBTIs...

The good, the bad, and the chaotic

Last night was pretty relaxing - I actually got to stitch for about an hour, and watch a bit of hockey (Go Lightning!) Definitely a nice change of pace after the weekend...My in-laws came down Thursday evening, and visited with us until Sunday night (they stayed in a hotel, but spent most of the time with us).

Thursday night, we went to Mass, then out to dinner. Friday we spent most of the afternoon at church (Lord's Passion at 3, Stations of the Cross at 6), then went out to eat. DH, DsD, and I had fasted all day so we were pretty hungry by that point. Saturday morning I took DD to an Easter egg hunt (she scored a dozen plastic eggs with goodies inside, and was quite happy with that). Then we dyed eggs at home - I used food coloring instead of those kits one buys, and I was rather impressed with how they turned out. I'll never buy one of those cheesy kits ever again!

Saturday night was the Easter Vigil, certainly one of the most beautiful and meaningful services the Catholic Church has to offer. It was even more special because DsD was getting baptised, confirmed, and receiving First Communion. Her DBF, who also came with us, affectionately referred to it as the "Holy Trifecta". I was her stand-in RCIA sponsor (her godfather couldn't make it down from up north), so I had my small part to play. We were all so proud of her! I'm also pleased with DD for being a good girl through all of the Masses - it's tough to be an active 5-year-old and have to sit through 2-hour services.

Then Sunday was another Mass, a big dinner (and plenty of Easter candy!), and more visiting. There were some interesting theologial discussions over the course of the weekend - we're Catholic, DH's folks are Baptist and DH seems to be keenly interested in remedying that fact. DH also seems to thrive on debate, while I'm more of a conflict-avoidance kind of person, so I tried to make myself scarce during some of the more, um, animated discussions. That, and I get the distinct impression that my MIL disapproves of both my housekeeping and my choice of decor. So, there was a bit of stress in my weekend along with the good.

Basically, combine visiting family with the most liturgically active part of the Church year, and you get some idea of how busy things were. I am very glad things are back to normal.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of chocolate!

As some of you know, I gave up caffeine and chocolate for Lent. The caffeine part wasn't very difficult - I discovered a number of Celestial Seasonings herbal teas, so I didn't miss the coffee. The true sacrifice was the chocolate....so many little things have chocolate - my weekly donut (I love Boston creme, the kind with the custard), cookies, brownies...

Now that Lent is over, I can indulge again. In fact, I was so keen to have chocolate that I had a piece of Dove dark chocolate right after the Easter Vigil. (I know, how truly sad and desperate that must sound!)

Today one of my coworkers brought in chocolate for me. Dove dark chocolate, my favorite domestic chocolate. (It still pales compared to European chocolate, but it will do :) Now, if you've ever had Dove, you know how they have those cheesy little sayings inside the wrapper. The first piece I got today said:

Life without chocolate is too terrible to contemplate.

Yea, verily. Though my all-time favorite remains Who needs therapy when you have chocolate?

We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You
Because by Your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Adoramus Te, Christe, et benedicimus Tibi, quia per sanctam Crucem Tuam
redemisti mundum.

Aaah, Indian food. There's a wonderful little Indian place near my work that has a lunch buffet, and I like to go there every couple weeks. So I'm feeling fat and happy right now....and a little sleepy.


I've tweaked my sidebar some, but I do realize it (and the blog as a whole) needs more work. And I'm adding links as I find them, so if I've inadvertently left off a blog, please don't consider it a deliberate slight. I'm just senile!

Honor thy father and mother

I managed to stitch for half an hour last night, and even accomplished the housecleaning I had planned. I feel significantly less stressed just by stitching that half hour.

I also got a box of stash from my mom! A book of patterns, a couple of quickie kits, and some DMC. I'll probably keep the kits for teaching DD to stitch, but surprise stash is always cool. I called her up to thank her, and while we were talking about stitching, she asked "Is aida always so stiff?".

I just laughed, and she admitted she'd just finished a piece on linen. She'll never go back now! *evil laugh*

My mom taught me to stitch many years ago - I started a crewel piece when I was about 6 (I remember because we moved from an apartment to a house while I was working on it) - it was a country-style piece in 70s colors. We've both been streaky with needlework over time, though she's been pretty consistent with crochet. She's definitely SABLE with yarn, even more so than I am with stash! I crochet too, though over the past decade or two I've only been picking up my hook to turn out an afghan for a gift when needed. Anyway, when we were both in cross-stitch mode, we used nothing but aida. We didn't know any better. I started on evenweaves in 1995, and I've found it impossible since then to work on aida. Too stiff! Obviously my mom is heading down the same path....like daughter, like mother?

Though the conversation with my parents did leave me feeling a little stupid - my dad's birthday was this past weekend....and I forgot! I am so embarrassed, although my dad didn't find it a big deal.


I get along pretty well with my folks, certainly far better than I did when I lived at home. Maybe part of that has to do with being able to see their side of things now that I'm a parent. Especially in dealing with teenagers!

Amazing how much my folks have learned in the past decade or so! ;)

A stitch in time..

Since most of you reading this are fellow stitchers, it seems only appropriate that I devote some time to my stitching. For those of you reading this who don't stitch, this entry may not be of much interest. Needlework is something I do to try to stay sane - it gives my hands something to do, it relaxes me, and I enjoy watching something take shape from my efforts.

I enjoy various needlework techniques, primarily of the counted-thread variety - cross-stitch, blackwork, and hardanger among others. I'm not as good at free embroidery as I'd like, but I do try.

A word about my stitching
I'm a rotation stitcher, which for the uninitiated means I "rotate" through the pieces I'm working on so they all get time. Very helpful for finishing pieces that would otherwise languish in oblivion. Besides, it's sometimes a nice change of pace to change pieces. In general, I swap pieces roughly every 10 hours of stitching time.

Anyway, my rotation is slightly different from most - since I enjoy a variety of techniques, I have dedicated slots for technique, as well as a "BAP" (Big A-- Piece) that alternates between the other pieces. So my rotation looks like:

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BAP
Embroidery
BAP
Blackwork
BAP
Medium-sized Cross-stitch
BAP
Small Cross-stitch
BAP
Religious
BAP
Drawn thread/Hardanger/other counted-thread

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Works in Progress
Last Supper - Leisure Arts
This is my current Religious piece, and the piece currently on my Elan lap stand. I'm working it on cream 28-ct Lugana, and I'm about 25 hours into it.

The Fortunate Traveler - Teresa Wentzler
This is my current BAP. I'm working it on 32-ct TBN "Parchment" Lugana, and I'm about 50 hours into it.

Floral Swirls - Candamar Designs
This is my current Embroidery piece. I started this long before I started rotating...right before 9-11 IIRC, so I don't know how many hours I've put on it. It's probably a slot or two from being finished. I'm not particularly thrilled about this piece, probably because my embroidery skills are somewhat lacking....

On Deck
These are projects I plan to start when the appropriate slot opens up:
Embroidery Jacobean Rose (goldwork) - Needle Needs
Blackwork Celtic Cross - Wessex Collection
Medium - TBD
Small Celtic Challenge - Sweetheart Tree
Other Amethyst Elegance - Paw Printings

Well, that's the state of my stitching at present! I try to keep fairly up-to-date progress pics and finished pieces in my Picturetrail album.

So, I have a grand plan. All I need is time!

I'm in a groove, or is it a rut?

*sigh* So Georgia Tech lost last night. Final was much closer than the game actually was - they just did not play well. As someone here at work put it, "It was a close game right up til the tip-off". I turned off the TV when Tech was down by 25, and went to bed. I'm still not caught up on sleep. Probably won't be until next weekend, unfortunately - this week looks to be very busy.
....
I used to be interesting once, you know. I used to daydream, write poetry or stories. I have the beginnings of a virtual castle online. I have ideas, but haven't had time or motivation to sit down and write them. It, like so many other things, is on my list of 'someday's. I've become...*gasp*...boring.

Maybe I should start checking out the Friday Five. Something to get me thinking about something above and beyond the day-to-day administrivia that occupies the mind of many a working mom, either outside-the-home or stay-at-home.

Stay-at-home moms....God bless 'em. They work harder than any of us. Sometimes I think I do less work at my place of employment as a software engineer than I do managing my household. It certainly seems less stressful much of the time, even though I'm more productive.

The best-laid plans....

Well, I didn't get to stitch this weekend like I'd hoped. Didn't get to read much either. It wasn't quite the Weekend From Hell, but it did a rather uncanny impression thereof.

For starters....Thursday night DH and I go to get our plane tickets for our trip to Europe next month. He's got 240K frequent-flyer miles, and is Gold Medallion. Our grand plan was to buy a single ticket (so he can continue to accrue miles), and cash in miles for the other 4. Unfortunately I think we hit a blackout date or something - we couldn't cash in miles for free tickets...or for business-class upgrades. So we had to buy 5 tickets at $1600 each. And we couldn't sit all 5 of us together on the transcontinental flight. Only two seats together were on an exit row. DD is almost 5 - she can't sit by herself, or in an exit row, so we wanted to try to reseat once seats opened up. So Saturday we went online to see about reseating....and the itinerary was just GONE. The airline had cancelled it on us. Supposedly they thought we wanted 24 hours to cancel, and when we didn't call them back (since we didn't know we were supposed to), they cancelled it. Panic mode. We called the airline back, and reordered the tickets. Couldn't get the same flight back as before because the seats had sold out, so we'll be coming back a day later. Though the good news is that the tickets were $160 each cheaper, and we'll be there an extra day. Turning out to be a pricier trip than we were expecting, so I certainly hope it's worth it. Though I think it will be :)

On to the minor gripe. Last week was my stepkids' spring break. I gave them the opportunity to do some additional housework (beyond their normal chores) for some extra cash. Unfortunately, neither of them took me up on it, and my inlaws are coming into town Thursday. Tonight and tomorrow I have things I need to do, so I have this sick feeling that I'm going to end up doing it all myself Wednesday night. I am not happy about that idea.

Though the weekend was not a total loss. Georgia Tech beat Oklahoma St to advance to the NCAA Finals... GO JACKETS! . The big game is tonight. Hopefully I'll be able to get a chance to watch it, and get away from housework for a bit. Maybe even stitch!

And we have a new appliance - we got a 30-bottle wine refrigerator. It's already full, and half the bottles are port! :)

And so it begins...

Well, there's a first time for everything. I'm jumping on the blogging bandwagon! I'll post as time permits, so don't be too surprised if I don't update this daily. I'll strive for weekly, at least.

I also can't promise it will be interesting reading all the time. Or even much of the time. But then what can one reasonably expect with a full-time engineer and mom? Fortunately I have off work tomorrow. Looking forward to getting in some stitching time. I also have some web updates to do.
So much to do, so little time..