Well, That's Over - an Update

Who knew 4 1/2 people could pick a 22lb turkey clean? I'd hate to see it if I actually had to feed a bunch of people - I can't get a much bigger turkey and get it into and out of the oven.... The ham is gone, too, as is the green bean casserole, though there is still sweet potato casserole left, since I'm the only one who eats that. I see a mass emptying of the fridge tonight or tomorrow. Oh, yeah, the dogs are full, too. The cats didn't seem to be around for dinner...?

My MIL was able to spend Thanksgiving with us (she's the 1/2 above); she has a new friend:


I forced myself to get the Christmas stuff out & up on Friday - I made the boys hang the ornaments on the tree, and they did a pretty good job! NOW, to get the dogs to not knock it over (it's in front of THEIR window) and to keep that new cat out of it :( And hopefully the Santas that sit on the floor will be left alone, too, though MissMatch doesn't understand why her table napping spot is completely covered with crap now. She did manage to get UNDER the tree skirt and has that all hosed up already. Damn cat.

I got a Birthday card from Carolyn last week; it contained 3 gorgeous flosses from the Victorian Motto Shoppe on ebay. I love their floss, and I can't believe how much you get from them! Just gorgeous colors, and my 3 personalized for me:


As for stitching over the past week, I continued to work on the Chatelaine Christmas mandala on Monday & Tuesday while we watched the finale of DWTS (and thank god Bristol came in THIRD - I was going to defect if she'd won, since, you know, she can't DANCE). Then I finished the topiaries on Wednesday, after the apple pie came out of the oven:


And then I started another Christmas design, one I've had in a binder forever. I had that piece of green fabric out from m y floss toss for the mandala, and decided I wanted to find something for it. As soon as I opened the Christmas binder, it was the first thing in there :) I have no idea where this pattern came from, other than a magazine - not even sure it was mine, or one I inherited? I do know it's designed by Sandi Gore Evans, but can't find it online anywhere, so this may be the only pub it was ever in. I worked on it all weekend, and have it about 1/4 done, maybe a bit more :)


I also worked on Secret Garden a bit during lunch a couple of days last week - I love short weeks :) I got 2 more bands done. I would like to get this done this week or next, if at all possible, though I may be spending lunchtime getting tournament stuff done....


And that's it - didn't work on my RR, on L&U, or on Lyne's wedding sampler - but the boys and I did go see the new Harry Potter movie, which was excellent; I wondered where they would break it into Part 1 & Part 2... Now I wonder how they are going to market the DVDs - wait until the 2nd one comes out in the summer, then package them both in time for Christmas '11? Not sure I can wait that long. Anyway, as for this week's stitching plans - I'm not making any plans. I'll work on something, but who knows what? I don't have much to choose from LOL Happy stitching this week everyone - and get that shopping done! Says she who hasn't even started yet :(

Turkey Day!

Here are some pictures I stole from various sources on that there interweb thingy - you, too, can google "thanksgiving images" and find some :)

Of course, if you saw my weekly update...

... you know I'm not into the whole...

... Indians helping the Pilgrims survive the winter myth...

... but some of the images we hold for the holiday...

... are just too good to let go of entirely.


Except maybe this one. Umm, I haven't actually watched the big Macy's parade for many years - has it really changed that much? There are Pilgrims rolling in their graves.... (thanks, Longmire - how perfectly inappropriate :) )

A Pre-Turkey Update

Yes, it's that week again, where I make enough food for an army, and they are tired of leftovers by Friday afternoon. Having just recently finished reading Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick, I whole-heartedly believe we should rename the day to either Harvest & Football Day, or Apologize to a Native American Day :) Anyway, the cooking begins Wednesday, as soon as I can cut out of work, get home and get the pies going, and then the full crapapalooza on Thursday, with turkey, ham, sweet potato casserole (which my MIL is going to LOVE, since it's mostly sugar), and all the other stuff :) No cranberries, no one eats those here, except as juice, with vodka :)


I won't even talk about what comes the day after it, though I do ALSO have 2 tournaments to get ready for - because I don't have ANYTHING ELSE to do in December :(


As for stitching, I did a few things this week, including a new start, which I blame on, oh, several people, beginning with Natalie, because she brought her Christmas Mandala to MI last weekend, and it was AWESOME! So I decided to start it, too, after I went back & forth on a piece of fabric for it. I had a green one that was pretty darn close, but I thought the 502 & 503 would get lost, so I opted to go get a piece of white opalescent from the Stitch Store Saturday, and I started it:

This is a freebie from Chatelaine Designs: http://chatelaine-design.de/newweb/index.html

I was working on this while eagerly awaiting news of Lyne & Dylan welcoming their first child into the world - William Michael arrived Saturday at 5:44 p.m.! Congrats to the Blodgett family!!!

During the week, I continued on Lady & Unicorn. I did get considerably more done than last week, and even though you can't TELL, I know I did. And I took a picture of the chart so you could see the blue highlighter :) IF I can just get this page done, the next one will be smoother - the Lady is on it, and her face, at least, is NOT That complicated (less than 75 symbols, I'm guessing :) ). Here's where I'll pick it up tonight (unless I decide to stick with the Christmas Mandala):

And the picture with the chart - look for the scattering of blue highlighter; 40 or so of those are from the week before, the rest from this past week.


I also got Secret Garden out for a conference call on Friday, and took it to my 13yo's last game for the season yesterday. The center motif is done, and two more bands are complete. 9 more bands to go, two or three of which are words, and this will be done. Would like to get it done - my travel bag is getting ridiculous...


So, this week, 3 days at work, then Thursday, cooking, eating, stitching (and being drug around by at least one dog, I'm sure) are the order of the day. I guess I don't even care if they watch Throwball. Then Friday is Tree Day - don't think I'm going to bother with any shopping, since it was generally a waste of time & energy last year. I've already begged to keep Jodie's RR a little longer than our December ship date so I can put more time into it, and I need to work on Lyne's Wedding Sampler (since the baby will be 5 by the time it's done, at this rate). No specific plans, just whatever :) Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the US, and Happy Stitching to everyone!

The ABCs of Me - Likewise Stolen from Various Sources

A - Age: Still not 45
B - Bed size: Queen
C - Chore you hate: Cleaning the boys' bathroom :(

D - Dog's name: Lucy Mae & DumbChuck (a.k.a. Auggie)

E - Essential start your day item(s): Shower, then tripping over assorted animals to get the heart rate going

F - Favorite color: Deep Purple

G - Gold or Silver: Either - depends on what I am wearing

H - Height: 5' 5"
I - Instruments you play: None - the only musical bones in my body are in my ears :( I WISH I could play any stringed instrument - violin, guitar, cello...

J - Job: Engineering Change Analyst & DBA by day, Head Cook & Bottle washer by night

K - Kids: Would trade them for what's behind door #2

L - Living Arrangements: Too many males, too many animals, too little space

M - Music you love: ANYTHING but Country (and Johnny Cash doesn't count)

N - Nicknames: None that I KNOW about, since my dad stopped calling me Charlie when I was little

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: None

P - Pet Peeve: Only one? Ummm, pictures hanging slightly crooked.

Q - Quote from a movie: "You throw like a GIRL" - The Sandlot

R - Right or left handed: Right
S - Siblings: 2 sisters, 1 brother (dec.)

T - Time you wake up: 6:15am M-F; 9-12 S-S

U - Underwear: Yes
V - Vegetable you dislike: Brussel sprouts are the spawn of Satan, and Lima Beans are their evil minions

W - Workout Style: Jumping to conclusions, pulling miracles out of my nether regions, that kind of thing...

X - rays you've had: Hand - broke a finger in 3rd grade (thanks, Debbie), chest X-Rays every year I was in the AF.

Y - Yummy food you make: Apple pie!

Z - The best place to visit: The Beach, anywhere

Another Year Older - An Update

I am glad Multiply was broken when I was trying to post my Veteran's Day post - while traveling. Trying to do things from an iPhone is possible, but when things aren't working right, who knows where the breakdown is?


As you might've seen already, I was in Michigan this past weekend, and had a GREAT TIME - except it was way too short, with a smidge too much time in the actual traveling portion. We had unusually warm weather Thursday thru Saturday, sunny and up near 70, and we spent a quality afternoon in the Thread Mecca known as Stitching Bits & Bobs. Much cash was gone through - and I got 3 projects closer to kitted.


We had a great dinner Saturday night, and we shared the Birthday brownie & ice cream they brought for me - and then when we got back to the cottages, Stephanie & Natalie brought in the fantastic cake they got for me, and we all had cake & ice cream after we made a few scissor fobs :) There was virtually no stitching until after Saturday's dinner - Stephanie DID load her needle at one point, though :) We did show and tell, with finishes and what we'd bought at SB&B. I was given some wonderful gifts, including a bellpull from Paula, featuring some of Ink Circles' Celtic Beasties on a very cute Bat bellpull that had the TSA agent making Scooby Doo faces Sunday in Lansing.


I worked on Tanglewood Saturday night, got 3 whole lengths of thread into a branch:


But I did get both of my pinkeeps made, and was wowed by Natlie's finishes, a cube and her Chatelaine Christmas as a flatfold, as well as Nancy's ornaments.

And Sunday morning came wayyyy too early, and we all went our separate ways, though Carolyn and I got to hang out until she had to run for her plane back to NC :) They really MEANT 20 minutes... I, on the other hand, had lots of time to hang out in Detroit, and enjoyed a gyro both Thursday and Sunday, as well as picking up a new copy of SK The Stand, since Natalie & Lyne have/are reading it recently - guess I need to read it again, it's been a LONG time, and I don't have a copy any more.


In other news, the only thing I stitched before leaving for MI was Lady & Unicorn; yes it came out, and though I worked several hours on it, I didn't even get 50 stitches in.


This week, I'll keep L&U out, maybe get a bit more progress on it - I am sooo glad I stopped in confetti hell the last time I touched it, before the summer slump I had. This page I am working on is nothing but confetti - I got the only solid sections done already :( Other than that, no real plans. Thank you again to everyone for their birthday wishes!! Happy stitching this week to everyone! Next week - Turkey Day! Invite a Native American to dinner and apologize if you are of European descent... :)

Oh, My Eyes! An Update

I don't know about you, but I loves my Standard Time! I've been missing that hour for MONTHS! Though, if I had to drive to work from the west, I would probably not like it so much - that sun was brutal this morning :) Fortunately, I have survived the cold snap, and am looking forward to getting back up in the 70s this week, where we belong! There were rumors of flurries up in the mountains Friday night - I didn't see any, thank god. I do know Little Kid froze his ass off at the throwball game; the 8th grade band went to hang with the HS band for the night, at what should have been us clinching the division (but we didn't - didn't score AT ALL :( )

(we're in black & red - final score 21-0, but we came into the game 9-0; not bad, for our first year at AAAA) (And no, I really don't care about Throwball, but I'm guessing some of you are as sick of Football as I am - though I am glad to see LA Galaxy won last night - Beckham, mmmmm)

I am also looking forward to my trip to Michigan this week!!! AND getting to go IN TO Stitching Bits & Bobs and looking at the Wall Of Fiber - do you think Bobbie will notice if I throw all the Carrie's silks on the floor and roll around in them for a minute or two ? :) I have a shopping list ready - Carrie's threads for 3 Ink Circles (4, if she has 8 skeins of Mojave Fire, which I doubt), and some Threadworx for Dragon Quaker. And BONUS - I finally get to meet Nancy in person! And Carolyn, too. It's going to be a GREAT weekend (once I get off the airplane). I'm taking beads & tools along - how much you wanna bet my bag will be searched? I haven't decided what projects I'm taking yet - Tanglewood and ?

I do know that I have not one, but two, things to take with, to be made into pinkeeps. I finished the one I've updated the last couple of weeks, the Autumn Tree from Gazette94's blog:


I finished that Friday night. Then I started another one from her blog, also over-1 on 28ct, but then I put it down after I got the border done, and picked up another freebie that I cannot tell you now where I found it - the person who offered it up doesn't put their info on the jpgs on their blog :( But at any rate, it was a small one, done, again, over-1, this time on that same natural colored Monaco I'm doing World Tree on, with a brown DMC - 3021? 3031? I forget. One of those. I got it half-done before going to bed Friday, then got up Saturday, finished it, then finish-finished it into a teeny weeny pin cushion/hangy thing :)


And then I got back to the other one from Gazett94, which I worked on Saturday (hard to work on it AND watch Avatar again - I love that movie), and finished it up Sunday.

I didn't put anything here for scale - this one's smaller than the Autumn Tree, though there was another small section that I could have added below - but since I already figured I was pushing my luck, that's enough...

So along with the beads & tools in my checked bag, I'll also have a couple of boxes of pins, my huge curved needles, and a few pieces of foam core that I'm trying to figure how to pack so they get there uncrumpled. And yeah, three over-1 projects in roughly 48 hours - my eyes are CHEWED. And let me tell you, this sunflower was hard to see - that lightest yellow (725?) was almost invisible. BUT these WILL fit in that jar, where the little Boo cushion is right now :)

When I wasn't giving myself headaches with the miniatures, I worked on Murky Manor some more - lotsa roof done, finishing last weeks section, and going right.


Obviously, with all this other stuff, L&U didn't make an appearance, but I think it might, if not tonight, then likely when I get back from MI. It's time to put in some serious time on it - and drive my eyes completely over the edge :) Red, red, red, is anyone else seeing red (in a good way)? Happy stitching this week to everyone!

November 1st - An Update

Here's the only political statement I'm going to make - If you Don't Vote, you've got No Right to Complain.

Okay, that's outta the way. In other news, the Little Kid now has enough candy to get him through to Christmas, I think. DH dressed as Lt. Dan and the boss's son was Forrest Gump - they won the big prize, of course. So since my old fatigues were out (not that I've been able to get into them in, oh, 15 years or so), LK thought he'd just carry on the Lt. Dan theme, though I guess he left off the wig, and grew legs. No pictures - he wasn't home for any Halloween festivities. I assume no one gave him a hard time for wearing his MOM'S dog tags... There was a Navy guy somewhere he went that gave him extra stuff for dressing as a Vet - you gotta watch those Navy guys every minute... ;)

Soccer is winding down, thank god - I am OVER IT. We have 2 more regular-season games - and I'll be out of town that weekend. Darn! Then Nike Cup in December. And then I can retire my managership!!! And then Big Kid's last HS season :( Not ready for that.... I will NOT volunteer for LK's team, not no way, not no how.

On to the stitching...

I got out Jodie's RR finally, and really enjoyed working on it. So much so, I worked on it Monday through Friday :) Those boxes take longer than I thought they would. And I have to say, these are more my kind of Christmas colors :) The Angel Train doesn't SCREAM Christmas - and that's a good thing :) I did the bottom right boxes, and a few scattered motifs across the bottom. We'll see how close to done I can get this during November - it's addictive.


My little pinkeep is coming along; I got the lighter green almost done (waiting for the pumpkins to show up, so I can put their leaves on with less counting), got a start on the dark green. Need to get the cat on there, too. I should have this done before I leave next Thursday, so it should come home from MI as a pinkeep...


And when I finally put Jodie's AT down, I got Murky Manor out again, though I only got an hour on Saturday, thanks to our game being at 7:00 - we never play club ball that late, it threw off the whole damn weekend, being gone from 5:30 to 10:00. But I did get the over-1 Witch in the Window done - and NO, it isn't a self-portrait; I don't wear hats, I wish I could, but when you have a basketball head, hats are not your friend :( Smart-ass kids...


This week, I'll do some more on Murky, but I may get L&U out, too - it's been sorely neglected, and I just don't think I can deal with it going into 2 decades if I don't pick it up again soon (maybe it's about time to get back to the rotation?). Or who knows? Any number of things are hollering at me. Check back next week to see what hollered the loudest :) Happy Stitching!

And remember - Halloween is once a year, but if you do it right, it can last all year:

(I made a Pinhead pumpkin one year - I wish I could find a picture of it, it was AWESOME - and I won $50, which covered the cost of the nails & paint!)

An Almost-Halloween Update

Yep, my favorite time of year! I just wish the kids were still little and did the Trick or Treating thing (as opposed to whatever it is they do now on Halloween that I don't want to know about, so long as the Sheriff doesn't come to my door for any reason). And since we now have the Mad Dog and her sidekick DumbChuck, we definitely don't hand out candy - at least, not at our house :) And up until this morning, the weather has been AMAZING! Which doesn't really coincide with me not having taken any pictures - haven't been anywhere except soccer, soccer, soccer :( The leaves are changing here, thanks to a few cool nights; we'll see how many get taken down with the storms moving through today (which I can feel in my head :( ).


So I guess I have to resign myself to Halloween Stitching, since we just don't have time for Halloween decorating at all, other than Halloween Fairy and my framed Pumpkins coming out of hiding. So last week, I was able to resist breaking out Sleepy Hollow & starting it; of course, this week I caved with something entirely different. See, I found this jar at Hobby Lobby, which was supposed to be PERFECT to put my Halloween pinkeeps in. Only, all but one won't fit the damn opening :( I can't get a jar with a wider opening, really. Here it is with the one that would fit in it - though you can't really see it, because a certain new resident thinks that the table is her nap space, complete with a table covering she can hook herself into so she doesn't slip off mid-nap. WTH? Anyway, you kinda get the idea.

(and you can see why I call her MissMatch in this pic - see her eyes are different, the one is coppery and the other has a lot of green in it)

SO, of course, I decided to just make some MORE pinkeeps, small enough that they will be SURE to fit. :) Starting at one of my favorite blogs, Gazette94, I found a couple of likely designs, and started one Friday night. Over-1 on 28ct, I know this'll fit in the jar. IF I can get it stitched before my trip to MI in a couple of weeks, I'll try to finish it up there that weekend :)

There's a leafy border outside that brown one - search the blog, you'll see this one. The quarter is there for scale :) AND I do know, beyond a doubt, that I need to get off my ass and get an eye appointment. Happy 43rd to myself in a few weeks :(

I also worked on Murky Manor during the week, getting the shutters done from last time, and getting the tree just past half-way, I think, maybe a hair more. Got the glow in the dark spider web done, too :)


And that's it for the week. I haven't been stitching at lunch at all - reading a book that is taking all of my attention, Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick (recommended by Cass) - wow, the story about the Plymouth settlement that we aren't taught, way more fascinating than you'd think. Check it out if you are into history at all...

This week, I plan to work on Jodie's RR, now that I have MM out of the Qs and off the floor stand. Then I suppose I'll go back to Murky. Who knows? Maybe Halloween Quaker? Dunno. Personally, I'm just trying to hang on until the time change, boy-howdy do I need my hour back! Happy Stitching this week to everyone, and Happy Halloween :)

Hot Apple Pie! An Update

Not much of an update, though - I seem to be running my ass off, getting nowhere fast, and not a lot to show for it other the the overwhelming desire to take a nap :) BUT, I did get the first apple pie of the season done yesterday - it's slightly browner than I prefer, since I was also folding Load 6 when the timer went off, but it's also realllyyyy flaky, so the color is irrelevant :)


As for stitching, I only worked on Murky Manor all week, and got a good bit done, though it seems I should have gotten more, since it's all I worked on??? Anyway, it's coming along well, though I have to admit, I was damn tempted to get Sleepy Hollow out, too, and get it started. If my WIP pile (specifically L&U & Knotgarden) weren't already hollering at me, I would have - but I can't bear the guilt of yet another WIP.


And that's it for the week. Weird, huh? I'll keep MM out this week, and who knows if anything else will make an appearance. I do want to get some stitches in on Jodie's RR, since I'd planned to last week, and just didn't find a stopping spot on MM.

In other news, for those of you that know me well, you'll know I have a great love of music. Well, as I was loading a shitload of CDs into iTunes, to load up my iPhone's iPod, I ran across some stuff I haven't listened to recently, reigniting my love affair with Robert Plant's voice. I have been playing his debut solo venture, 1982's Pictures At Eleven again, remembering the first time I heard Burning Down One Side on the radio (WTUE in Dayton), marveling at Slow Dancer, and singing along (in my fashion - I don't sing) with Moonlight in Samosa. Not too long ago, I caught a show on one of the cable channels with him, Alison Krause & T-Bone Burnett, about their Raising Sand release. As if my favorite song ever wasn't a Zeppelin song, Since I've Been Loving You, breaking out the solo Plant just reminds me what a talent the man is - Page might be a guitar god, but that voice is what put them over the top. No offense to Chris Cornell, who I would listen to reading the phone book, and who, btw, is doing a Zeppelin song on Santana's new record, Whole Lotta Love no less, but Robert Plant is the voice of my younger days, and now, as he's aged and it has mellowed, he is definitely smokey :) Mmmmmm... And I won't even mention the f'ing HAIR ENVY...


Anything the man has ever been involved with, I give 5 Martini Glasses out of 5 :)

A Columbus Day Update

Not a lot to report this week. Last weekend, totally consumed with soccer, this weekend, totally consumed with soccer - and summer came back :(, so today, I am freaking FRIED again. It was like 88 yesterday, sitting in crappy metal bleachers from 12-3, persimmons falling from the tree above (though I sat down far enough to not get hit, but I smelled 'em the entire time). It's going to be in the upper 80s all week again, so last week's 70s were nothing but a tease, dammit.


As for it being Columbus Day, well, whatever. Kids were out of school already - last Friday through tomorrow for Fall Break. Then my 8th grader is going to Savannah for 3 days; I wasn't allowed to go to D.C. for my 8th grade trip, so I made sure he could go do this. LONG bus ride in his future - hope he remembers his phone charger :)


On to the stitching...

I kept Starry Nights out and got a good bit done on it. I think I finally figured out the best way to work on it, with that 2-layer chart, and haven't made any colossal errors since. If I'd worked on it this much in one sitting before, I'd have figured it out sooner, I expect.


I worked on it Mon-Weds, and then again on Friday night a little, and then Saturday before we left for the game; Thursday was a wash, as I was on the phone with my mom that night, it was her 78th birthday. Nuttier than a fruitcake...

Anyway, Saturday, I got Murky Manor back out, though between Saturday & Sunday and spending some time writing, I didn't accomplish much - I now have a chimney done and have started the lower roof on the left side.



I'll keep MM out for at least part of the week, if not all. I also received Jodie's RR on Friday, so will likely get that out at some point, too. HERE it is when Carolyn finished it up and sent it on to me :) Other than that, nothing really planned - I think we have 2 games again this weekend, though maybe we'll be home for one (since home is still 40 minutes from the house). I'm hoping Fall comes back soon, and doesn't just dump us into winter like it did last year - that wasn't cool :( Until next week, Happy Stitching, everyone!