A wake-up call away

All I can say is I'm packed. At least I think I've packed everything I need. I'm sure I've forgotten something. But I have the important stuff. I have my party clothes, something to sleep in and something to wear home. The rest is probably gravy. Now I just have to fall asleep, get up, go to work and then ride to Savannah. Thankfully I don't have to drive. (Yeah for Joyce!)

So for a second night in a row I'm going to be boring and write almost nothing so I can try to sleep. I'll post tomorrow when we get to Savannah. Thank goodness for laptops and free wi-fi! And yes, I've already packed my camera so there will be pictures at some point.

If I were a car

I saw this on DF Jean's blog and couldn't resist. Interesting...that's all I'm saying.

I'm a Ferrari 360 Modena!

You've got it all. Power, passion, precision, and style. You're sensuous, exotic, and temperamental. Sure, you're expensive and high-maintenance, but you're worth it.

"Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

A Little Shopping

So, I'm tired from a full day of work, a meeting with my trainer and going shopping for some pretty new clothes. The shopping took a little longer then I thought it would. I'm sure the part where I tried on at least half of the clothes in the store might have had something to do with that. Still, I'm happy with what I found. A couple of blouses, a trench coat and a pair of jeans. Not to mention a few other lovely little items that normally aren't seen by the public. Oh, and 3 pairs of earrings. Now I just need the perfect pair of shoes for Wed. night. Hopefully I can find those at DSW tomorrow after work. Something high, cute and silver to match the trench coat should work perfectly I think. No pictures until New Years Eve when the fun will occur, then those will have to be sifted through to protect those who are innocent.

New Look for almost a New Year

I decided I needed another new look, so here it is. I haven't really decided if I like it or not. I kind of fits my mood for now so I'll live with it for awhile and see what I think.

I'm hoping that 2009 will bring lots of great things and a fresh, cool look on my blog might just help. You comments, as always, are helpful.

Christmas fun

Christmas Day has come and gone, but the season continues for a few more days. Hey, haven't you sang that song at least a billion times? So, to catch you up on the decorating this year I bring you some eye candy.
First the spiral trees. For Christmases past these have been filled with houses from my Dickens Village collection. This year they were all alone and just pretty with the white lights. Interestingly everyone ohh'd over them.
Next the mantle. Again, it's very minimalist this year without all the flowers and birds and such. I liked it though so that's all that counts. I did add a little spice with the wreaths from a couple of years ago.
A view of the kitchen with the goodies ready for friends to arrive on Christmas Eve. Even that was a little smaller then normal, but still we had fun and enjoyed having something before we headed to church for the 11PM service.

Christmas Day we went to church to have dinner and found a surprise in the form of friends.That's Frank and Angie who moved away a few years ago to TX for Frank's work. It didn't hurt that Frank's a "Texas boy" either. Now they are moving again, just not as far this time. They've bought 25 acres and will build a "small" house and be able to keep their horses and maybe even a few cows. I voted for alpacas, but I'm not sure they were convinced.

That evening we took a drive to St. Augustine to look at the lights. St. A is one of my favorite places and I haven't been in way too long. I really need to go down on a Saturday and just walk around, maybe do a little shopping and have dinner in one of the many great restaurants.

Yesterday I went to my DF Melody's house for some lunch and a little stitching. I decided to work on "Little Green Acorns" and see if I can't get that finished. It's such a beautiful piece and I would love to have it finished and framed. (Not that I don't have a few others that need some framing done mind you. I really do need to go pick some frames out and get them done one at a time and get caught up.)

Today wasn't such a good day. I woke up with a terrible headache and it's taken most of the day for it to go away. I'm ready now to do a little more stitching and then get things ready for work tomorrow. Another short week, which is nice, and then it's off to Savannah for New Year's Eve!

It's almost Christmas!

And we do have a few decorations up. Enjoy some pictures.My hand-made ornament tree.My "Garnet & Gold" tree, or "The Angel Tree" as it's also been called since it has both all garnet & gold and loads of angels.

This is new. It's actually a 4' tree planted in an old wheelbarrow with some new LED lights. I love how they look, and will be switching to them as my old lights give out.
Finally a look down the back walk to the sun porch. I realize it's very blurry, but I was trying to get a picture so you could see the lights and I don't have a tripod. I need one, but don't have one. So, this is what you get. Still, you get the idea.

This year is a very tamed down version of our decorating. We got a late start and with me working and everything else we just didn't get as much done. Oh well, it's still pretty. I'll get pictures of the other rooms tomorrow before everyone gets here for Open House.

In other, very wonderful, news...it seems my contract is going to be extended after all. I'm extremely happy. I truly like the work and, for the most part, the people. Plus I already knew a few people which is great. They are extending for another 3 months, but hopefully some other good things will happen during that time. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement after yesterday's news. I'm still trying to process what it's all about, but I've already taken some steps to feel better, and it's not just the medicine. I've scheduled some time with my previous personal trainer and we're going to work out something so I can get in better shape. It's not like I haven't been procrastinating enough, but this is a great motivator.

So, that's all. Big day tomorrow and then it's Christmas! Stay safe if you have to be out and about tomorrow. I'll be going to work myself. Should be a fun day. Enjoy whatever you're doing tomorrow.

The results are in

...and I have Rheumatoid Arthritis. For now I'm waiting to get in with a Rheumatologist in Jacksonville that I've heard wonderful things about. The blood tests were decisive, since my doctor made sure he ran all the different tests to determine RA. Until I get to see the new Dr. I'm on a very low dose of Prednisone for about 15 days. That should help with the pain and stiffness I've felt for awhile.

That's it for today. Not sure I know what else to say. Tomorrow I hope to have pictures of more decorations. I think between finding out my contract is definately ending on the 31st and this that's enough bad news on the blog for the rest of the month. Only pretty and fun things for awhile.

Late, but it's Christmas

So, I couldn't resist this template when I saw it. I screams Merry Christmas to me.

And don't adjust your screens, yes it's snowing on my blog. How cool is that?

Can someone explain this?

Why have I decided that I need to knit an heirloom afghan? First, I have no heirs in the sense of children, nor any indication that I will have any from my own loins. Nor does it look like I'll gain any through an advantageous marriage with the way my social life has been for the last several years. Second, I live in Florida and I've chosen to knit this in Cascade 220, mainly because the colors I wanted only come in Cascade 220, but still. And third, well, heck I don't have a good third but I'm sure someone else can come up with one when you see the craziness I've come to.

You see, I love cables. I love cables, and bobbles and cables and well almost all things Celtic or that remind me of Ireland and Scotland. I've not been to Ireland, but I did go to Scotland as a child. Somewhere there is a picture of me in Edinburgh at the castle with one of the guards. But I digress. So when I saw that there was a Great American Aran Afghan book I just knew I'd be sucked in at some point. Then I mentioned it to Kathe and well before I knew it there was a class for it scheduled in 2009. Which is fine, because this way I have to finish it, or at least finish the squares. Of course I'm not happy with doing what they did and using all cream. No, I want something different, yet still kind of in line with traditional aran pieces. So, I went with these colors...plus cream which KnitWitz didn't have yet.The center ball is color 9460, then the one on the left is 2452, the one on the right is 2442 and the one on the bottom is 2440. the one on the right is a little more green then it looks in this picture. I took the picture in my bedroom with regular lighting and that's thrown the color off a little I think, but you get the idea. Very green/mossy/earthy. Looking at them, very me colors. So I'm excited to get started. I haven't decided on what the January block will be, but stay tuned, I'll be sure to share.

In other news, my dr. called and wants to see me now that the lab results are in. I'll see him Monday afternoon. Hopefully they showed something up that will explain the pain in my hands and some other places. We'll see what he says. If it were something really bad he would have made time to see me today so I'm not too worried. The medicine he gave me for the pain seems to help most of the time, so that's been nice.

Tomorrow there will be much preparation for Christmas. We have to make some early runs for supplies, especially of the food variety, but then it's home to do the decorating that we'll be doing this year. It's kind of a scaled down year, but I'm sure things will look nice.

Hope everyone is almost ready for Christmas. It'll be here very soon!

Florida Snowmen

Wow, you all have some good eyes. Yes, that is the head of a snowman. I'm not sure I understand it but I'll try to explain it as best I can.

A couple of years ago my mom and dad went to WV to visit her sister. Apparently my aunt had found these "heads" at a store up there and had made "snowmen" to line her stairs. Mom thought they looked so cute so she came home with one. The tree you see is her blue and gold, WVU, tree. We haven't figured out where the snowmen stuff is going this year, so I'm guessing she put it there until we figure out where it's going to be for the season.

So, that's the deal. Nothing exciting. Actually kind of boring. Maybe I can do better tomorrow. There will be much decorating this weekend, so stay tuned for additional pictures.

Catch Up

I know, I know, I've been very lax with my posts since Nov. ended. I apologize. I'll try to do better, but December is always a busy time for me and with working away from home it seems doubly so. It's not like you've missed much.

There's been some decorating, but not as much as what might be considered normal for our house. I finished a wreath, but haven't gotten a picture yet.

I was in 2 swaps on Ravelry. One for Starbucks. The other with my NASCAR friends.
My package from my secret pal was full of goodies, as you can see. That's 3 skeins of Laines Du Nord Merino in a lovely deep purple, a beautiful hand knit washcloth and a pocket that is holding the most wonderful smelling peppermint soap (organic and hand made). The tea is my new favorite tea in a bag. Thanks to my DF Heather for introducing me to it and for my new friend Suzi for sending me some. Then there's the book, and a magazine full of great photos (and probably some good articles, but I'm still looking at the pictures!). Oh, and I can't forget the stitch markers, I love stitch markers and especially ones that are this pretty. It was a great package and I've been enjoying everything in it.

The other big news is I finished my mobius scarf. I've worn it a couple of times and everyone who's seen it loves it.
This was made Sunday night after we got home from the show, "Avenue Q". This makes me look the least drunk of the pictures mom took that evening. I really enjoyed knitting this scarf and would like to make at least one more.

Work is good, but my contract is still ending on Dec. 31st. I'm very hopeful, and praying hard, that things will work out so I can stay. All good thoughts, prayers and other such things would be appreciated in this area.

The only other news is that this morning I went for some blood tests. My dr. wants to see why I've been having problems with my hands and some other things. Thankfully the technician was excellent at her job and there was no pain and I managed not to faint while she drained 4 or 5 vails of blood from my body. Hopefully this will tell the dr. something and we won't have to do that again any time soon.

That covers it. Half a month of news. I'll try to get some pictures of the other decorations as we get them done. Stay tuned.

Not quite finished

In case anyone was wondering, I haven't quite finished the mobius scarf in the lovely Seminole colors. I had hoped to have it for tomorrow. Looking doubtful. Didn't get any work done on it tonight after I got home. There's 6 of us tomorrow, so I'm going to drive the truck over. Looking forward to the fun we'll have. We'll have to see how the game plays out. Would be wonderful to get the win. Either way, I made brownies tonight because I refuse to hear any comments about how the 'Noles didn't win because I didn't make brownies. Seriously, I think there are other factors folks, but my friends are supersitious or something.

In other news, I did manage to get a tree put up yesterday. Hope to get more done Sunday after Church. Obviously, since I'm leaving at 10 in the morning, I won't get anything like that done tomorrow. I love putting all the decorations up. This is my favorite time of year. I'll be taking some pictures as rooms come together. Right now, it's all torn apart. Very sad, but it will get better soon.

And while we're talking about Christmas...I managed to purchase one of my presents and one that my parent's are giving to someone in our family. (I don't want to get to specific since I think they actually read this blog every once n awhile.)

Enjoy the weekend!

Much to be thankful for

According to the news tonight most people don't have as much to be thankful for this year as they did last year. That's sad, because it means as a country we've begun to be thankful for "things". Don't get me wrong. I'm thankful that I have a place to live that is warm and has a decent roof. I'm also thankful that I have a job, but I'm more thankful that earlier this year when I was seriously looking for a job there were people who cared enough about me to pray and send good thoughts my way about the situation. You see, I realized something a few years ago. "Things" are way less important then people and the relationships we have in our lives.

I've been blessed with an amazing parents who have always encouraged me and been there to help when they can. Not only great parents, but I also have a wonderful extended family that I'm thankful for.

Then there are friends. I seriously don't know how I would have survived the last couple of years if I had had a few of you around to call and talk to, cry with or just hang out with. That's just the people who I know IRL, then there's the amazing people who I "hang with" on Ravelry, especially the girls in my NASCAR groups. You all rock! (Even if some of you haven't been to Waffle House or Cracker Barrel. That we can remedy with a well thought-out trip.)

Last night I went to the Thanksgiving Eve service at church and our minister asked those who were there and willing to share what they were thankful for. The lists ranged from the traditional family/friends to the continued healing of a grandchild from a brain tumor, to those who serve and protect us here at home and away from home. One young man stood up and said he was thankful that his friend thought enough of him to invite him to church that night. The minister shared that one lady that week had said she was thankful that our church was able to help her provide her family with food and now she was able to pass that help along to others.

This year, I hope you stopped long enough to think about all the things you have to be thankful for. Yes, the stock market isn't looking so lovely, and some of us are wondering if we'll ever be able to retire and actually afford to live. Others are wondering if they'll have food for tomorrow's dinner or where they'll live next week or next month. But we still have much to be thankful for. We live in a country where the possibilities are endless. Where as my mother says, you can be born in a small coal mining camp and grow up to own your own business, or travel the world, or become anything you want. Where if you're willing to work, you can not just dream dreams, you can make those dreams come true.

Tomorrow we'll return to our normal lives of trying to "get" as much as we can, but for today, I pray, we all took time to be thankful for what we've really "got".

Not so fascinating

Have you ever thought of a great blog post during the day, only to come home and promptly forget what you thought would be so fascinating for others to read about? Maybe it's the fact that I spent over 3 hours on conference calls today on practically the same subject that has my brain revolting. Or maybe it's because it's almost 1:30 in the morning and I should be asleep but obviously I'm not. Whatever the reason nothing fascinating here today folks. You can probably keep moving along to see something fun and entertaining on some other blog.

If you're still here and you commented on yesterday's "Wink" post let me just say this.

a) I believe I've made the case of non-border collie status, however, if it's easier for you to think of this person as "border collie", then go right ahead.
b) Male
c) Marital Status unknown, but leaning towards single due to 2 facts.
*no wedding ring - which in and of itself is not a solid indicator
*he was staying late tonight to run the job that will produce the raw data we're both going to use Friday to create files with, me for test, him for the production run. The thought here is that he could really do that from home, so if he were married/cohabiting/whatever, he'd go home and do that, but I could be wrong, it's just a guess.
d) He's no Daniel Craig or Hugh Jackman, but he's not that hard on the eyes.
e) I'm going with non-retarded, unless you're talking social skills, then who knows. I do know he's seems smart and apparently knows what he's doing at work.

Well, that was fun. Not sure it means much, but fun. Don't eat too much turkey tomorrow!

When is a wink a wink?

Ever had someone wink at you and wonder what they mean by it? I've had it happen to me a couple of times in the past few days. Interestingly by the same person. Which started me wondering. When is a wink...a wink?

I realize I'm a fairly friendly person, so sometimes people talk to me and tell me things that they wouldn't tell someone else. Apparently I also give off the aura of trustworthiness, which I am, but still does everyone have tot ell me things that they don't want anyone else to know? But what's up with the wink(s)?

Monday, Monday

Some Monday's feel like Mondays. You know what I mean? Today felt like a Monday at times and at others it was just plain strange. Of course, with a holiday in the middle of the week, things are almost always off kilter.

The best part of today was the yummy Egg Curry my co-worker brought for lunch today. For those who don't know me well, I am a fairly adventurous eater. I draw the lines at only peas and beans, and even then I will sometimes try something different just to see if I'll like it. I love the spices you find in traditional curry. So I was very excited that C. said she'd bring lunch today. I've tried several different curries, and liked them all, but never Egg Curry. It was yummy! Basically hard boiled eggs in a fantastic red and green chili pepper curry gravy. She made rice with cardamom pods and brought some naan to go with it. The best news is she made enough that we'll have it for lunch tomorrow.

Otherwise work was all busy, then trying to find something to do. Although, towards the end of the day it seems I inherited some work that I'm not sure is really my responsibility, but hey, I'm going to do it.

No pictures of the tea cozy yet. I found a tea pot that it will fit, but haven't had a chance to take any pictures. I wish it were a tad longer, but it will work fine I think.

Nothing really exciting happening in my life, but then that's kind of normal. Maybe tomorrow something amazingly exciting will happen. Maybe I'll meet the man of my dreams and he'll sweep me off my feet...oh wait, this is the real world...ok, maybe I'll get all my work done and will manage to have tomorrow evening to do some things that I need to do that aren't work or church related. Yeah, not too exciting to most, but it would make me happy. Enjoy your Tuesday!

I had good intentions

No, really I did, but the day got away from me. Actually, the last 3 days I've had good intentions but things just got in my way. I do have a couple of items to bring up before it's Sunday and I've missed another day of blogging.

1. I did manage to finish the tea cozy for class today. That's part of why I haven't blogged. No pictures yet. I need a smaller tea pot. I've been looking, but tomorrow I'm just going to get one. Then there will be pictures.

2. I managed to hook up the new printer. That's good. I can even get the Mac to print on it. That's good too. However, (and you knew there was a however didn't you?) I can't seem to get the PC that's on the network to recognize and print to the printer. I'll try again when I have more patience. Tonight was not that night.

3. I'm still loving the mobius scarf!

4. Myron Rolle, a FSU football player and amazing scholar, was named a Rhodes Scholar tonight! As a fellow 'Nole I'm so excited that this dream of his has come true. If you want to know more about this young man, who I feel has so much to offer our world, read this article.

5. I really do need to finish my "Mrs. Beeton meets Brown" fingerless mitts.
This cold weather so early in the season, combined with the fact that I seem to have developed pains in my hands that I didn't have last year, means I need something to keep my fingers warm at work and in my office.

Thanks to everyone who chimed in with their current reads. I love hearing what other people are reading and enjoying. We'll have to do that again some time. Until tomorrow...which has become today (Sunday)...

Book update

I rarely talk about the books I've been reading but I'm making an exception. Technically I haven't been reading these books since I've been listening to them as audio books, but still. So, if you like a literature mixed with a little sci-fi, mixed with some hilarious comments, then this series is for you.

The main character is named Thursday Next and she's a woman I can relate to, even if she can leap into books and travel through time on occasion while I can do neither. I think what I like most about these books is that they assume you've actually read something other then the comics section in your local paper. It assumes you already know the story of Jane Eyre, or any of the other stories that might be mentioned. Jasper Fforde has certainly crafted 5 books that are a great read. I'm currently listening to the 5th book, "First Among Sequels". I love listening to these books mainly because the reader has such a great voice and does such a great job with the different characters. So, if you're looking for a great "listen" while you're on a trip or going to and from work check these books out. I warn you though, start with the first book, "The Eyre Affair" and go forward in order, you'll be hooked and will want to know how things turn out in the end...if there is an end.

I've also been reading my way through Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum's books. These are just fun and a great easy read. Nothing else to say. All of these books are just a good "romp".

So, what are you reading?

One word

Migraine.

I'll be ok, but today that's all I have for you.

Being single = busy too

I'm always amazed when people assume that because I'm not married and I don't have children I must have LOADS of time on my hands. That is about the furthest thing from the truth. I don't think I'm alone in this. Most, if not all of my single friends are busy as well. I realize that most of my time is spent with church stuff, but still, even I think my schedule is a bit ridiculous at times.

Both last week and this week I have something to do every weeknight, including this Friday if I decide to go to Knit-Night. Not to mention Saturday I'm teaching a class that I'm not ready for yet. I so need a couple of nights at home to get it all finished. But, that's not going to happen so I'll just work on it as I can and in the words of the wonderful Tim Gunn "make it work".

Oh, and because I'm so busy, this is it tonight. I'm so tired I can't think of anything else to say. Which just proves that single girls/women aren't always full of plithy and fun things to read.

Home again!

I survived the weekend, but maybe just barely. We had fun, even if the team forgot that you're supposed to WIN the Homecoming game. Oh well, it was fun to be with friends.

DF Jill and I managed to visit a couple of yarn stores. We stopped by Wooly Bully first since it was the closest to our hotel. They have some nice yarns and both of us managed to find something we just couldn't leave without. I found this

It's a lace weight merino from a company called Ella Rae. I'd never seen it and it's so pretty I just had to have it. As you can see I also found a pattern I thought it would be perfect for. I adore Ilga Leja's patterns and have a couple in my library. I might actually start this one!

From there we headed to Really Knit Stuff. I told you about this shop last year and I can't sing their praises enough. But be warned, you too might be forced to sit down and start a project that you bought the materials for while you're there. It's not all bad, I started a lovely project from Cat Bordhi's "A Treasury of Magical Knitting". I wanted to start while there since the lovely Terri was there casting hers off and could show me how the "magic" cast-on works for the mobius. I worked on it off and on the rest of the day and today and this is what it looked like before I picked it back up and knit on it for another hour tonight.
I'd love to have it finished by the last game of the regular season which happens to be a home game against UF. Well see. It does got really fast though, so maybe, just maybe it's doable.

Finally I was enticed by the sparklies and purchased this...
This photo doesn't show the sparkly factor all that well, but believe me it's amazing! It's from Blue Heron and is a Rayon Metallic yarn. The color is Curry/Copper. I'm excited about it, first because it's just so beautiful and secondly because it's so different. I'm pretty sure what I'm going to make, but I may change my mind. We'll just have to see.

So those are my pictures. I forgot my camera in Jill's car so you'll have to wait and see what she decides to post on her lovely blog.

I got an award and now you might too!

Last Friday TMTIHeather gave me an award that I need to pass along. Since when you read this I'll be in Tallahassee probably looking around a yarn store or in a grocery store buying what we need for tailgating I thought I'd pass along the award. I hope those who receive understand that I love their blog for different reasons.

So, here are "the rules":

For those of you who have been awarded, please post the following rules on your Blog:

1. The winner can put the logo on their Blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other Blogs.
4. Put the links to those Blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the Blogs of those you’ve nominated.

1. For the lovely knitting, and the times she has even more lovely hand dyed yarn, How Raven Lit the World.

2. Because you can always count on Kim to find the best sock yarn and show you pictures of it... Knit Kimber Knit

3. She doesn't post often enough, but when she does I love the eye candy Yarntender

4. Dan's blog always gives me something to think about. I don't "participate" but I always read it.

5. Because she has great stitching eye candy! Willow Tree Stitcher

6. More great stitching eye candy for you stitchers out there can be found at Sally's blog

7. I think I've told you about Heidi's stitching site, but she also has another site about her life, Celebrate The Seasons. Pure eye and soul candy. Take your time browsing her site.

Whew, that's 7. I don't have time to notify folks right now. But I will. However if you see your blog name, consider yourself notified. Play along if you want, but don't feel obligated. I will still love each of your blogs!

Time to leave!

I just got a call and my friends will be here for the trip to Tallahassee. I can't wait. I love Homecoming. It's a night game and the weather looks to be perfect. I'm all packed and now I've told you why this is such a short blog. But check back tomorrow, I have a little something special planned. I should have pictures on Sunday after the weekend. See you all then. Now, talk amongst yourselves while I'm gone, but be sure to be nice!

Long day

It was one of those long days. You know the kind where you leave the house in the morning at some awful time, say like 6:30 AM, and don't get home until night-time, you know like between 8:30 & 9 PM. (Ok, in the spirit of full disclosure I did stop by the house long enough to grab a sandwich and something to drink and my book I needed for the meeting tonight.)

That being said, I thought earlier today I'd talk some about my upcoming weekend, or the fact that I've been knitting on my sock at stop lights (don't get all crazed, it's during rush hour and really I have the lights timed to how long it takes me to do a round on my sock). Then I thought no, I'd talk about the fact that I have so been enjoying listening to the Tuesday Next series of books on audio book and I'm so excited that I downloaded the 5th, and latest, the other day and started listening to it on the way home. Or that we had 90 people at our middle service at church Sunday and it wasn't a special weekend like Mother's Day, Christmas or Easter. Ninety! And that made our discussion on Wednesday in our planning meeting even more exciting, and more maybe made us start thinking what we need to move to the next level.

But then I got home and I was tired and I had to put in some laundry so I'd have something for this weekend. So, instead, you get this almost stream of consciousness entry that will hopefully not be too boring.

Keywords

I took a look today to see what kinds of searches people have done that landed them here. Mine are no where as entertaining as my DF Heather's, but still one or two are interesting.

First it seems that there are a few people trying to find out about "cubie", or as it's really called "All Year Squared" by Betsy Morgan. If you're here for that you can read about it here, or see better pictures here.

At least one person wanted information on "Patrick's Wood/Sherri Jones" classes. In case you're still wondering, I love Sherri's classes and her designs and I highly recommend you take a class from her if you have the opportunity. And no, I haven't finished any of the pieces from classes I've taken with her.

Then there were a few about certain yarns. The 2 most curious were "big daddy sock doll", "Spirit of Cross Stitch festivals" and "needles in candy". The first one I'm stumped by. I do call my father "Big Daddy" on occasion, but I don't think I've put his name and "sock doll" together. Although, I have mentioned the socks I'm knitting Big Daddy, so maybe that's it.

The "needles in candy" was a big hit around Halloween. Sorry folks, this is relatively a non-kid zone so no discussions on how to keep your young 'uns from eating candy spiked with needles or something equally as atrocious.

Finally Spirit of Cross Stitch. In case you were wondering, there hasn't been one in years. It's really a shame too, because they were fun and you had such wonderful teachers and for those who didn't have a local shop, a great place to shop for supplies. I'm not sure I miss the long days of rushing from one class to another because I didn't have enough sense to realize I was overbooking myself, but I do miss the fun and the atmosphere. Plus, without Spirit, I would never have met the aforementioned Heather.

To those who are more regular readers, thanks for sticking with me when I haven't been such a good blogger at times. For those who are new, welcome! Hope you enjoy your visit and that you'll come back again.

Take 5 Tuesday

I'm taking what I thought would be the easy way out today, but it turned out to be a bit harder then I thought. (Thanks to Take5 Tuesday for the meme.) Here goes.

1. 5 of your favorite kinds of tea - in no particular order:

• Earl Grey/Lady Grey
• Empress of China (yeah, I know they don't make it any more)
• Kamiya Papaya Oolong
• almost anything mixed with Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls
• brewed Chai, not the stuff out of a box, the real stuff

2. 5 of your least favorite kinds of tea.

• Pu-Erh
• Lapsang Souchong
• Matcha
  
• Lapacho
• I don't have another one to give you

3. 5 places you’ve been recently.

• work
• church
• Hilton Head Island
• Gainesville (this pains me to say on a certain level)
• the Apple store

4. 5 things you don’t like, that most people do.

• green beans
• peas
• ketchup
• lettuce on sandwiches or burgers
• almost all reality shows - the exception is Dancing With the Stars
  

5. things you like, that most people don’t.

• mayo on french fries
• mayo on hot dogs (are you seeing a trend?)
• does stitching count? Most people I know love it, but "most people" could probably care less
• knitting socks - again, most of the people who read this blog probably agree with me on this one, but the more general population think we're crazy, just ask the Yarn Harlot.
• driving

Today was Veterans Day here in the U.S. and Armistict Day in many other countries. Both my mother & father's fathers fought in WW2. My dad's father came home, my mother's did not. Both of my half-brothers served this country, Dee in the National Guard, Doug in the Navy. Doug's son, also Doug, is currently serving in the Navy. I live in what many call a "Navy town". Today we took some time to thank those who have gone before us to protect this country and all we have today. (And no matter how "bad" things are, this country and those who live in it are still extremely blessed with things that most people in the world don't have.)

To those who have lost a loved one in any war, or conflict, or while serving in peacetime, Thank You. To all who are currently serving, and to their families, I send my thanks and prayers for safe returns, or as they say in the Navy "Fair winds and Following Seas" to you and yours.

Crisp, Cool Mornings

I love this time of year. I always feel like I have more energy. The mornings are cooler like this morning when it was 42°F. I left home and the sun was just coming up, there was no fog so as I drove across the St. Johns River there was an absolutely stunning sunrise. It made up for the rest of the day, which for the most part didn't live up to the sunrise. But we won't worry about that.

On another good note, I may have solved the TV sound problem at the house. My father is practically deaf, which means for him to hear the TV it has to be at a level so our next door neighbors can hear...and we live on 2 1/2 acres. There is a local electronics store going out of business, so I stopped in hoping to find a pair of really good wireless headphones that you can hook into the TV. I scored! Found the last pair of some really great headphones and they were on sale, plus I got a little extra off. Now, if he'll wear them for more then a week and then say they don't work and stop wearing them everything will be wonderful.

What this means is there is no sound but my fingers typing on the keyboard. No TV sound. Just me typing. It's heaven, and to celebrate, I'm going to put away the computer and go to sleep so I can get up early and maybe catch another great sunrise tomorrow morning.

Sunday drive

I ended up taking an old fashioned Sunday drive today. It was nice to get away and do exactly what I wanted to do and not get in any hurry to do it. To top it all off we found a great little place for Sunday brunch in Starke. Seriously, in Starke. There have been good restaurants in Starke for years, but this one was new to me. They had great home cooked food and I highly recommend the fried chicken. Plus the price was reasonable. It wasn't a huge buffet, but it had plenty of good, home cooked food to choose from, plus some cakes and cookies to top off a really good meal. So, if you find yourself driving through Starke, FL take a turn on E. Call St. and find Charlotte's Bistro.

The rest of the day was spent shopping; a little Fresh Market, a little yarn store (Hanks), a little bead shop (Avalon) and finally a cup of Peppermint Mocha Twist (YUM!). In between the shopping that occurred, I did manage to knit on my "O Dublin" socks. Got home in time to watch the end of the race in Phoenix and then worked some more on the tea cozy. It's so close. Now that I know how I want to finish it it's going along pretty quickly.

I'll have pictures of the stash enhancement from today later this week. My aunt & uncle from MI will be stopping by to spend the night Tuesday on their way to spend the winter in Melbourne. Plus I have meetings scheduled at church for every night this week. Thankfully today was a great way to get ready for everything that will be going on this week. Hope everyone else had a great weekend and took some time to relax and do something they enjoy.

Where do Saturday's go?

I always think I'm going to get so much done on Saturday's and then all of a sudden it's 2 minutes until midnight and I realize that I didn't accomplish as much as I wanted. Part of the problem may be that I slept in until 9:30, which was really nice and helped a lot in how I felt. Then there was breakfast, laundry, checking out a new online program for the church, NASCAR Cup practice, college football...speaking of which my 'Noles won...dinner to be made and a bunch of shows to watch that I'd recorded during the week.

In knitting news: I managed to work on the tea cozy. I think I've figured out what I'm going to do to make it work and not have to drive myself insane decreasing the cables. I've also been knitting on the 2nd of a pair of socks I've named "O Dublin". (Yes the link is to Ravelry, why don't you have an account yet?)

That about covers Saturday for me. Tomorrow will be interesting I'm sure.

It couldn't have come soon enough

It's been a tough week and I'm glad it is Friday. I completely forgot it was payday today, that made it a little better. Plus I'm going to sleep in tomorrow. This weekend promises to be a little bit of fun.

I want to stitch so I'm going to make this short and wish everyone a lovely weekend. Enjoy some time doing something fun. We all need fun in our lives and this week I've decided that people just don't have enough of it and that's why they aren't as nice as they could be to everyone. So, have fun and be nice to others, especially those who actually speak to you first and are attempting to be friendly.

I have nothing to say so I'm going to answer a few questions and the like.

1. geeky Heather - They've discontinued Empress of China. Of course I have almost none when I thought I had a whole bunch. I'm not happy. I must find a suitable substitute. Feel free to make suggestions.

2. Ria - The last 2 on the list are wonderful. I have the Tarocco Ruby Orange Herbal & Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls mix at my desk and me and my fellow tea drinking team mates decided it would be our morning brew. We managed to get 4 brews from "one pot". Thanks to the Jasmine Pearls I'm sure.

3. As a matter of fact Ceramix-boy I did see that amendment and decided to abide by it whether it passed or not. Call me crazy, but maybe the world would be a little better if we all watched the Dr.

4. Jackie, it's NaFinaSweUBnKni4Yr Month of course. Now that's silly.

5. I would love to write a novel some day. I even have an idea. Until then I will console myself that there are some really talented writers out there still and that soon one of my favorites will put out another book. Not that I don't have enough to read. My bookshelves are overflowing as it is, and no there won't be pictures of that.

6. Tomorrow is Friday and I'm glad. I have a few plans for the weekend, but nothing too special. I want to get some things together for the swaps I'm in. Would be nice to get at least 1 of them off in the mail soon.

That's it for this Thursday.

Sit down and have a cup of tea with me

I should never, I repeat NEVER, be allowed to go to Teavana by myself when they have a bunch of new teas. I can only say that I did my part to help the economy. I kid myself that I did it because of the articles that have been out which extol the virtues of tea, including that it helps you loose weight. Ok, sign me up for that and if it can make me less tired when I want to be awake and sleepy at night, then I'm totally all over that. So, those of you who are big tea fans are wondering what I managed to purchase. Here's the quick rundown:

Imperial Acai Blueberry White tea
Fruta Bomba Green Tea
Kamiya Papaya Oolong Tea
Emerald Bamboo Forest White Tea
Tarocco Ruby Orange Herbal & Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls mixed (my idea)

I also got myself one of the perfect cup brewers so I can make decent tea at work. And I may have gotten other teas. Ok, I did get something else but I can't remember what 2 chai's they had blended together. I just know it was one you could try in the store and it was delicious! I also got 2 different 4 oz bags of tea free. They were teas that have been discontinued but that's 8 oz of tea for free, well sort of free it was because I bought so much so I had to spend to get the free, but still. I am sad that they discontinued one of my all time favorites, but I'm sure I'll find another to take it's place.

Plus, it was the perfect day for tea. Kind of misty and grey with a chilly wind that blew every once in awhile. Oh, and if you're going to have a cup of tea and enjoy Earl Grey, I also tried the new Earl Grey White and loved it. I'll have to go back next week and buy some for my tea stock.

I voted!

I think the entire world knows that here in the US we had ourselves and election today. I did what I've done every election since 1984, I voted. Now when I say that I don't just mean the big ones, like today's, I mean EVERY election. I haven't missed a primary since I became old enough to vote. So today was for me, just another opportunity to voice my opinion by voting for the people I think would do the best job, oh and on a few state constitutional amendments along with a few things that dealt with our local county's government. That happened all over the nation, but I wonder, how many people who went to vote today actually took the time to find out about those amendments and judges and all the other things they might have had a vote in?

I wonder because when I went to vote a woman came in and was asking some questions that got me thinking. First, she wanted to know if you could vote if you weren't registered. Couldn't you just show your driver's license and get a ballot? The poll worker said that no, you can't just show your drivers license and get to vote. At which point the woman continued and asked why not? It was proof that you are who you say you are. The poll worker, who was a very nice woman, again said that in this state you have to be registered and you have to register ahead of time. At this point the woman, who was there to vote, started to question why you would have to pre-register, that didn't seem to fair. Everyone should be allowed to vote. I think the poll worker was getting a little upset and wondering what point this woman was trying to make. It's not like there was a line of people, I mean I just walked up, proved I was me and got my ballot. And it's not like the woman wasn't registered. So the poll worker says, "Here's the deal, in this state we like to know that the people voting actually have the right to vote, and we don't think it's too much to ask that anyone follow the rules and register at least 29 days prior to the election they want to vote in. Because if we just allowed you to show a drivers license you could vote here, then drive up to GA and show them a drivers license and vote, then head to SC and vote and we'd have no way of verifying you are who you say you are. Does that make sense?" It was a good answer, at least I thought so. But what really got me thinking is then she switched and asked "If I don't vote fore everything will my ballot still count?" I'm not sure what bothered me more. The fact that the woman didn't know the answer to her own question, or the fact that she probably only felt that oe part of the election had any importance and was only there to vote for that part.

All that being said, whatever happens it's still worth it to go and vote every time they open the polls, at least I think so.

On a lighter note, I worked on my tea cosy for a class I'm teaching later this month and watched Anne of Green Gables. I've got the 1st DVD for the "new" Dr. Who that I'm also watching tonight. Am I fun or what?

...completely covered in scales!?!

First, I had no idea there was a NaBloPoMo, or National Blog Post Month this month as well. That's obviously what I'm going to attempt to do. Maybe next year I'll work up to writing the novel, but not this year.

Some weeks I love Monday's others not so much. Today wasn't all that bad. Plus to cap the whole day off I just turned on Lifetime to find that Bridget Jones is on and it's at my favorite 2 scenes. You know the one...where Bridget is at the dinner party with all the lovely marrieds and couples and they ask her why there are so many unmarried women. Seriously, these things happen. For some reason married people seem to think that if you aren't married, or living with someone, or at the very least dating someone, you must be unhappy and there must be something wrong with you. And it's not just married folk. It's so common that it's almost comical, if it weren't sad and sometimes bordering on annoying. That's not to say that I wouldn't love to meet my own Mr. Darcy, because believe me, I would. The trouble is there really aren't that many people who actually like you "just as you are".

All this sounds like I'm a little down, but to be honest, I actually feel pretty good about things right now. Work is good and I'm hopeful that they might ask for me to stay past Dec. 31st. When I left work today there was a cool breeze blowing and I love this time of year. Plus, I managed to get my existing PC networked in to the new wireless network that I got when I got the shiny new Mac. (Which still needs a name. I haven't felt inspired yet, but maybe soon. If you have a suggestion, let me know.)

I'll leave you with some great eye candy. Some of you, who have stuck with me in my attempt to blog, will remember the lovely flowers from early in my blogging days that bloom at night. Well, they put on a show a couple of weeks ago and I haven't had a chance to show you what we saw. Hope you enjoy the Night Blooming Cereus

November

I'm not quite sure how it happened but I realized this morning that it was November. That means two things.

1. It's NaNoWriMo. No, I'm not going to attempt to write a novel, but in the spirit of the month I am going to attempt to blog each day. No promises that it will be interesting, or that each day will be very long, but there will be something.

2. The knitting communities answer to #1 - NaKniSweMo - or in other words, National Knit a Sweater in a Month. I'm not going to attempt that, but I am going to attempt to finish a sweater I've been working on for over a year. That alone would make me extremely happy.

Anyone else have dreams of grandeur and going to really try and meet the goals of these fun times?

In other news, I had a rotten football weekend. Not only did I not get to go to Atlanta for the FSU vs. GA Tech game in Atlanta, but they lost too. Then my hometown Jags lost today. But that's ok, Carl got another win tonday at Texas Motor Speedway. The Chase got interesting again.

No stitching this weekend, but I did finish a little something on the knitting side. Can't post a picture here, but if you belong to Ravelry, I'll be posting a picture there very soon.

They say it will rain tomorrow. Seems like a fitting beginning to another work week. Hopefully it will go well though.

More ASG 2008

I left you on Friday after our first class. That evening we decided that we'd just stay at the hotel to eat since there was a nasty nor'easter storm and to be honest, I didn't want to get out in it, no matter how much I was looking forward to eating at the Hilton Head Diner.

Saturday morning we started the day off with Sherri Jones of Patrick's Woods. Sherri apparently doesn't have a website, but you can see quite a few of her lovelies here. Our project was lovely, but then I love most of Sherri's pieces. Here's what it will look like finished...


Then there's the inside...

Here's the fob we were to work on in class, only mine will have a T

Here's what I managed to accomplish...

Now, I realize it doesn't look like much, but that one wave-like stitch took me a bit of time, thank you very much.

Then it was on to a lovely lunch and a trip to the room before we headed to our final class with Rae. Every year I think Rae will not be able to out-do herself. Every year she comes up with something I love even more then the year before. This year she's really gone and done it. I love all things Celtic. And this is the outside of her tri-fold piece...

Stunning is the word I'd use. The inside is equally magnificent...

I did get a little more of this fob done in class then the other. I would have had more done but for some reason I thought the branch wasn't in brown and stitched it in the purple color. Silly me. Of course, I don't have a picture yet. I'd love to finish it first since it's fairly close to being done.

Saturday night has been a costume party, if you want to dress up and make a fool of yourself, for a few years now. This year my DF Jean, who was also my roommate, decided we should go as "pit lizards". For the uninformed a "pit lizard" is a woman who hangs around the NASCAR pits trying to "catch a ride", so to speak. (Yes, you may read heavily into that comment.) So, we put together our costumes, we got all tarted up, as Grant would say, and we headed down to dinner looking like this.

The other occupants in the elevator were probably scared. One asked if we were going as "driver's wives". My response was, "Something like that." Oh, and we'd come up with new names, Candi (Jean) and Brandi (me). Top it off with some killer shoes, that didn't make the pictures, and "cutie, little girl voices" (yes Heather, I promise not to use that voice ever again...unless I resurrect Brandi for another party, then all bets are off.) As crazy as we looked DF's Jill & Heather were adorable, see...

Here's a group picture of those in our group who dressed up.

Sunday morning we had a lovely brunch and then we said our goodbyes. Most of the gang heading to Atlanta, with one then on to Knoxville, while I headed south to home.

Yes, the weekend was a success. Not just because we had 3 wonderful classes, but because we got to hang out with friends and other women who understand our fascination with fiber and linen. Who get, why we would spend a weekend, and a fair amount of money, to sit in classes and get new projects when we have more then enough to keep us going for way too many years to come. Already making plans for next year!

ASG 2008

Every year, for quite a few years, I've been going to ASG in the fall. I started going and didn't know anyone except Rae & Ron who put the entire thing on. Over the years I've made quite a few friends and have had some excellent classes from fantastic teachers. This year was yet another great weekend.

I was very happy that we were back on Hilton Head Island, SC. Although I'm not a "beach person" I love Hilton Head, maybe because of all the trees, even if they do make it terribly hard to find your way to a new resort in the dark. Our hotel/resort was wonderful, both the accommodations and the people who worked there. Kudos to them for making our stay very enjoyable.

Thursday I went to work, bright and early, so I could leave at 3 and head to SC to meet up with DFs Jean, Jill, Heather and Ann. They were driving in from Atlanta, Ann having spent the night at Chez Jean. They made it there before I did and amused themselves with some shopping at the outlets. It took me longer then I thought, probably because the state of GA has most of I-95 torn up and actually had workers out so you had to go 55 and 60 most of the way. By the time I made it, dusk was settling in, ok, it was dark people. Now I had my cute little GPS all cranked and had the address to the Marriott in it, but that really didn't help. I still managed to take a wrong turn. I swear she said to "in the roundabout, take the 1st right", which I did. However, that led to the Hilton. It looked like a lovely hotel, it was just the wrong lovely hotel. Thank goodness I hang with a group of geekylovely women who all own multiple electronic communication devices. Jean, being the "early adopter" among us, has an iPhone and she's who I called first since she was driving and might have the best shot at telling me how to get to the right hotel. She didn't, but the guy at the front desk, where she was thankfully standing, could and I arrived while 2 bellmen were unloading the "Party Van" (tm). Between the 5 of us, we had 2 very full luggage carts. I'm not sure how we managed to fly to Knoxville (I mean) Louisville the last few years. It may be that if we can't bring our entire households, we actually manage to pack only the essentials. Thankfully this year we could all drive. I say this for a number of reasons.

1) Because we could bring lots of fun things. Some knitting, some stitching, some brownies, some alcoholic drinks, my new Mac Book Pro, printer, remote hard drive, wireless router and sundry other items. (Let me take a moment to thank Richard & Jean. Richard is a great guy. He set my new computer up for me and got everything ready to go so I could just start using it. Thanks Richard! And thanks Jean for bringing me all the stuff.)

2) We had great teachers and projects. First we had a great class from Catherine Jordan. First we painted our linen, then we stitched on it. See...
Well, that's kind of what it will look like when I'm done. This is what it looked like when I started.
That's the top on the left and the inside part on the right. I went for the look of some of the beaches in the Bahamas.
Here's with some of my ship stitched in. I need to go back and put another row in the bottom of the ship and finish the sails. I looks much more interesting in person.

The rest of the rundown will have to wait for tomorrow. Stay tuned.

ETA: Changed Knoxville to Louisville, since apparently I was so tired I didn't know what I was typing. Not that Knoxville isn't lovely, it's just not where we've been going the last few years.

A month? Really?

Unbelievable, it's been almost a month since I last posted to my blog. I'm a very bad blogger, but this whole job thing has been wearing me out.

I have some real things to show you and to share, like my trip this last weekend to Hilton Head for ASG, but that will have to wait. I'm too tired right now to think about it. However, my DF Jean had this fun quiz and I got such a laugh after we'd just discussed how she always does these things and they tell her she should be a musician or something not at all like what she does IRL. So here's my results. Those who know me, feel free to comment on how appropriate this is or isn't.

Your result for Howard Gardner's Eight Types of Intelligence Test...

Linguistic

29% Logical, 25% Spatial, 51% Linguistic, 39% Intrapersonal, 49% Interpersonal, 27% Musical, 6% Bodily-Kinesthetic and 12% Naturalistic!

"Verbal-linguistic intelligence has to do with words, spoken or written. People with verbal-linguistic intelligence display a facility with words and languages. They are typically good at reading, writing, telling stories and memorizing words and dates. They tend to learn best by reading, taking notes, listening to lectures, and via discussion and debate. They are also frequently skilled at explaining, teaching and oration or persuasive speaking. Those with verbal-linguistic intelligence learn foreign languages very easily as they have high verbal memory and recall, and an ability to understand and manipulate syntax and structure.

Careers which suit those with this intelligence include writers, lawyers, philosophers, journalists, politicians and teachers." (Wikipedia)

Take Howard Gardner's Eight Types of Intelligence Test at HelloQuizzy

Great weekend update

Well, that should probably say: Update on my great weekend, but hey, I'm tired.

Seriously though I had a wonderful weekend. Friday night some of my very dear friend from church, none of whom have a blog, took me to dinner at The Hilltop Club. It was very, VERY nice. We had a great evening just talking, drinking some great wine and having a wonderful meal. Our waiter even brought me a piece of strawberry shortcake to help with the celebration. (We were celebrating my getting a job.)

Then Saturday was the big FSU v. Colorado game here in Jacksonville. More fun ensued. Unfortunately I don't have pictures, since I completely forgot to pick up my camera before I left the house. I think that DF Jill will have some soon. At least I hope so. The really great news was our Seminoles won!!!! Plus we had a great time tailgating with friends and just generally hanging out.

Unfortunately Jill couldn't stay long on Sunday, so I didn't even get to see her Sunday morning before she left since I'd already left to go to church. But she got home all safe and sound, so that was good news too.

I spent part of my Sunday taking a wonderfully long 3 hour nap. I was going to watch the NASCAR race, but couldn't manage to keep my eyes open for very long. Did see the exciting ending, so that's something, even if my favorite driver, Carl Edwards, didn't win. It was an exciting ending!

That's about it. No knitting, no stitching. Tonight I came home, had some desert and am heading to bed after trying to yet again remote log in to work. Still not working right for me, but I think tomorrow I'll get it fixed and then I won't have to sit in 2 hrs. and 15 minutes of traffic to get to work when there's a major wreck. I can just come back home and work from here. That will make me very happy.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and a good Monday!

I'm sorry

Really, I've meant to post. I meant to post back on the 10th when I got a call for a job interview. Then I meant to post on the 12th after I had the interview. I really meant to post on the 13th when I got a call offering me a contracting position after the interview. Finally I was going to post on the 18th on my first day of work. But, alas, none of those things happened. I did manage to send out some emails to let people know what was going on, but no post here. So, I'm sorry.

The short version is...I have a job as a contractor. I'm working at as a QA Analyst. (Yes, I know their colors are blue and orange. Thankfully, I haven't been given any shirts that I must wear in those colors. I'm not sure how I'll handle that.) I haven't worked in corporate America or IT in 7 years. Funny, not much has changed. I was impressed that on Thursday when I got there they actually had a computer and a phone all ready and working, well sort of working. The phone worked if you had it on speaker phone. If you picked up the handset to talk, I could hear the other person, but they couldn't hear me. That issue was resolved fairly easily. The computer worked, and I even had a LAN ID, but not all the permissions for programs and drives that I need. Still don't have all the drives I need. Not sure what the hold up is with that. Oh well, it hasn't stopped me from being productive. The people are nice and the job is, well a job. It's a lot of tedious, very detailed testing right now. But that's ok. It's busy, so the day goes quickly. The added bonus is there are some people there that I know from when I worked at AT&T, oh so many years ago. It's nice to get to see them, although we're all busy, so not much catching up has happened.

The scary part is I'm getting up really, REALLY early so I can beat the traffic. It's about 28 miles one way to the office. That takes anywhere from 45 minutes to over an hour, depending on what time you leave. So, since they don't seem to mind, I've been leaving here around 6:15 AM so I can get there around 7. That means I get off from work fairly early, unless I stick around to work some overtime. So far they haven't decided if they want to pay for me to work overtime. (Did I mention I love being a contractor and being paid by the hour??!!!??) My poor body hasn't adjusted to the change in sleeping habits. I came home today exhausted.

In other great news....The Yarn Harlot is coming to Jacksonville!!!! Yes, my favorite LYS is hosting the Yarn Harlot herself next month on Oct. 16th! I can't wait. I know it's going to be a load of fun. Then the next Thursday I'll leave work and drive to Hilton Head, SC to join my friends at ASG. What a great 2 weeks that will be.

No pictures, but I'll give you some updates on stitching and knitting activities.

Stitching: I've been working on the ornaments that I should have finished in July. Finally got all my supplies for the last of 3 ornaments I need to stitch. I'll have it done and kitted by ASG. The others will be done and given to Jill in exchange for the kits I'm getting from others in the group.

Knitting: I'm currently working on a tea cozy design for a class I'll be teaching soon. I like how it's turning out so far. Hopefully it will look great when it's finished. I've also worked on some socks, finishing one of daddy's socks for his Christmas gift. Need to cast on for the other. I've got some other knitting to do for upcoming classes and some crochet to work on for classes. I need to work on some more Christmas gifts, but haven't had time.

I think that's all the updating I can do tonight. I need to check my email and do a few other things before I give up and go to bed. Bear with me as I attempt to figure out how to do the fun stuff and work too!

Eye Candy Tuesday

A little eye candy to get you through the day after a holiday.

Halloween Fairy
Mirabilia Designs

That's how she looked about August 29th or 30th. There's a little more done from this weekend. Since I'm not positive I'll have enough thread for her wings, I'm doing pieces so if I have to add in a different dye lot it will look like shading in her wings. It's also the way I did her other wing and I like that effect much better then the striping you get if you just stitch back and forth with a hand-dyed thread.

So, in some ways there's been a lot happening around here, and in others not much. Here's a quick rundown

1. At some point during TS Fay, or maybe just after I'm not exactly sure, our big screen TV decided to quit. Just quit. It turned itself off and wouldn't turn back on. Kind of rude if you ask me, but then again it is just a TV. That meant moving my small 20-something inch TV from my room to our Great room/Family room. The other TV was 50", let's just say it was not fun trying to watch TV on that small TV in that BIG room. Finally Thursday I found out that there was no getting it fixed for less then $400 and to be honest, that just wasn't a good investment. So I started researching and finally decided we should purchase this. (We paid considerably less then what they show as the MSRP, I can shop if nothing else.) This meant we also are going to make some changes to our cable and our phone. We've never had digital cable, just didn't convert, so now we'll get that with HD and all that comes with it, plus switch phones as well. We'll end up saying about $40 a month, which I just can't imagine, but that's what I've discovered.

2. I've been stitching. Working on my Halloween Fairy. She looks so pretty. There is an outside chance that I'll actually finish her before Halloween this year. Stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed.

3. Had a lovely, and very lively, dinner at my friends Don & Lynn's house last night. It was a reunion of sort of our group that used to do a Bible study together. We're missing one couple who currently live in TX, but we ended up calling them at some point during the night. We always have a great time together and this was no exception. There was great food (salad w/all the fixings, pork roast, fried chicken, cheesy hashbrown bake and desert) and good drink. Joyce always brings good wine and this dinner was no exception, plus Bill & Jen brought a bottle, but I didn't have any of that. We don't get together as much as we used to, but when we do...well, it's just fun.

4. Still looking for a job. Have to call a recruiter back Monday. Hopefully she'll have something good to tell me.

5. I missed Virtual Birthday. The weather was way too bad for me to attempt to go across the river to join in the fun. I've got to find a time to get with everyone. Won't be next week, but I think the week after will work.

6. Football (American style) seaons has finally started again. Spent as much of today as I could watching games. Have one on now and am listening while I type. Next Saturday begins FSU's season. I'm cautiously optomistic. I think we'll be better this year, but I don't think we're back to being a power-house by any stretch of the imagination. Planning on going to at least a few games this year. More, if I get a job and have some actual funds flowing. Still, it's fun to go to the games and hang out with my fellow 'Noles.

7. Speaking of the Seminoles, this is the clock I received from Mr. J.C.
I really need more bookshelves in my office to be able to show this off to perfection. When I'm his age, he's in his 80's, I want to be as active as he and his lovely bride Mrs. Margaret are.

I think that's the majority of my news. I'm sure there's other things I need to talk about, but that will have to wait until another day. If you live in the U.S. I hope you have a lovely Labor Day.

Storms and more storms

First let me say that I'm kind of tired of rain. I know we need it. I know we have been in a drought for a long time, but really, is it necessary that we get caught up all at once? For those of you who don't know, we've been dealing with Tropical Storm Fay and her remnants for the last week. Today it rained again and according to the weather people it's all because of Fay. Apparently she has a friend named Gustav and he might want to come for a visit as well. I'm hoping he'll decide to go visit someone else. I can do without another visitor like that.

So, back to the vacation pictures.
We surprised our cousin Toni one day for lunch. She thought she was meeting Nora for their monthly lunch, instead she got a "3 for 1" special! We all splurged and shared a wonderful pizza and had a great time talking and getting caught up. (Toni's grandmother and my grandfather were brother and sister, so she's a cousin on the Graham side.)

We really didn't do too much else that week. On Saturday we went here...This is Marcia Springston-Dillon's gallery. There's a wonderful article on her in the Wonderful West Virginia Magazine (which I've very kindly linked for you). Her gallery is full of lovely items, not just her own, but work from other craftsmen and women. She very kindly let me take some pictures of her shelves and other pieces.
I adore how her items are interspaced with baskets and all kinds of other things. The dulcimer in the top middle shelf isn't for sale, but it was pretty. Very similar to the one I have.

This is an example of the place settings she creates. We all thought it would be wonderful to own a full set. Nora offered to purchase me one if I get married. She believes she's safe with that promise. Oh well....

So, what did we end up getting? Well I finally decided on this baking dish.While mom decided that this sconce would look perfect in the kitchen with the new counter tops. She was right btw.
You can't tell, but the outside of the dish is this lovely shade of gray-green that's just amazing and works wonderfully with the black inside. Marcia is truly talented and I can't wait to make another trip to her gallery the next time we're in WV.

That was Saturday, then on Sunday we gathered for another cousin's 50th wedding anniversary.That's the happy couple, "Bud" and Joann. Bud's another Thompson, his father and my grandmother were brother and sister. (I tell you these things because, well, I'm southern and we always explain how people are related to us.)

Bud and Joann have two daughters, one older then me and one the same age.

That's us. From left to right...Jennifer, me and Kimberly (or as we all call her Kimbo). The party was at a lovely park in Bluefield, VA and we had a wonderful time. It was good to see Kimbo. Seems I only see her about every other year. She's the one that's the same age as me, although she is a bit older I think. Growing up they lived near my grandmother and when I would be in WV for the summer I'd spend quite a bit of time at Bud and Joann's house hanging out with Kimbo. Their house was just up the road from the city pool in Mullens, so we spent many a summer afternoon laying on the top deck ogling watching the hunky lifeguards other swimmers.

That evening we went to hear another of our cousins sing. Calvin sings a most beautiful bass in a quartet, The Gospel Harmony Boys. I grew up listening to gospel music and love to hear the harmonies of a great men's quartet. Even if my sweet cousin wasn't in the group I'd have to say they have some fantastic harmonies. Afterwards Calvin posed with me for a picture.He's definitely a Thompson and loves to joke and cut up. I feel sorry for the poor person who has to stand by him while they are singing. He's one of those people who can sing and clap or snap their fingers off rhythm. I've stood beside him at family reunions when he's pulling that trick and it will catch you off guard every time. Their website tells where they'll be performing so if they are going to be near where you live go hear them and be sure to let Calvin know you read all about him on my blog!

That about covers the vacation. I've got some other things to show you this week. I've neglected showing you a lovely clock that a dear man at our church made for me. Plus I need to take some pictures of my stitching and the knitting I've been doing. Some I can't show yet since it's for Christmas gifts. But I do have some lovelies to show as soon as I get together with DF's Michele, Joan, Christine & Kathy for virtual birthday. I've been saving those pictures until we've exchanged our gifts. They might actually read this blog from time to time and I'd hate to spoil the surprise.