Off to the Wilds of WV & VA

Yep, I'm leaving for awhile to visit with family. Big family reunion this weekend in a lovely valley nestled in the VA hills. That shot is actually from the cemetery where a lot of my relatives are buried looking down into Taylor's Valley. It's wonderfully peaceful and there is no cell coverage, and the house we're renting doesn't have internet. I think I'll survive. (That's a picture of the house. Apparently my great-great grandfather - or so - built it back, way back.)

My aunt doesn't have it either, so I won't be around much. I may try to blog from my new phone, we'll see how that works. While I'm gone I hope everyone stays safe. Don't forget about me while I'm away!

Thursday mutterings

Really, there isn't much to talk about today. Although if you are a regular visitor you might notice the new, and very cool, progress bars at the side for my knitting. I did manage to figure out that code to get them to show up. Feel really good about that. So, I'm off to work on the Rosalie scarf and see if I can't get it finished and in the "present pile" I've been creating.

Oh, if you live in Jacksonville and aren't busy tomorrow come by and see me at KnitWitz. I'll be minding the store while DF Kathe is away celebrating her grandmother's 90th birthday. I'd love the company and I'd be thrilled to show you the pretty new yarns that have come in. You know you want them! Plus tomorrow night is one of the nights the shop is open late for knit-ins, and Kim and I will be there to make sure the fun happens!

I don't like storms!

I've never been one of those people who likes thunder storms. I am afraid of lightening and would rather curl up under the covers when there's a storm then do much of anything else. Plus they tend to bring on a headache. So the last couple of weeks haven't been nice to me. So to top it all off today there's yet another storm, full of lightening and thunder and of course I need to get a shower so I can be someplace around 4, but with the weather I'm scared to take it. Really, can't I catch a break people?

On the stitching front I still don't have a picture of the ornament, sorry folks.

Well, I'm off today to make sure I know what to do at my LYS while the owner is away and she's leaving me partly in charge. What fun! If you're in town stop by and see me Fri. or Sat. morning!

Socks & hats & shawls! Oh my!

Well, it's not all that much, but I have been knitting some, as well as working on my ornaments for the exchange I'm in. I'm going to be late with the ornaments...big surprise to some I'm sure...but I'll get them done very soon and out in the mail.

Here's what else I've been working on.This is the hat I made for a little girl at my church who had to have brain surgery. She's doing great right now, but the scar looks like a big C at the top of her head. Hopefully the hat will keep her from trying to mess with it while it heals. One of my dolls decided to model it for me.

Then there's the socks. I started a pair for my dad and this is a picture as of a few weeks ago.I really like the way they are coming along. The pattern is called Masonic Lodge Socks and I'm using Berroco's new sock yarn, Comfort Sock. (The link is for the pattern on Ravelry. If you knit and you aren't on Ravelry you should be, so just sign up and by the next day you should have an invite. Seriously, it's great!)

Then there's the scarf I started after I found the pattern on my trip to NC. Here's how it looks right now.

Last, but by no means least, is a Pi Shawl.

I started it in June at the last Midnight Knit-in at KnitWitz. It hasn't moved since then. I want to do something different and I have some patterns that I'm debating about. Until I can decide what I want to do, it's on hold. Hopefully I'll decide this week.

So, you got some pretty pictures of knitting. Tomorrow maybe I'll have a picture of one of my ornaments. Stay tuned.

It's really all about the books

I saw this on a blog and thought it was interesting. Sunday is a great day to curl up with a good book and try to forget that Monday is coming. Feel free to share on your own blog.

Look at the list of (100) books below. Bold the ones you’ve read. Italicize the ones you want to read. Leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in. (Movies don’t count.)

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones(Alice Sebold)
25 . Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner(Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She's Come Undone(Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveler's Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery) (I actually have only read this in French, but I'm counting it since I had to discuss it in French as well, so I really do know what it is about.)
71. Bridget Jones' Diary(Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane & Abel(Jeffrey Archer)
91. In the Skin of (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

So, I've read almost 1/2 of the books on this list. Interesting.

Fan-dang-tastical!!! I got tagged!

Thanks to Kathe I get to participate in this fun fact finding mission. It was quite a while ago and I should have finished it way before now. But here goes since I'm never sure what's weird and what's random about my own life.

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog
2. Share seven facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird
3. Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Check. Hmm… seven weird/random facts. Okay, here I go:

1. I was born on my maternal grandfather's birthday, July 17th. He was killed while serving on board ship in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific theater during WW2 when his ship was torpedoed and sunk. There were no survivors.
   
2. Deion Sanders a.k.a. "Primetime" and a couple of friends changed a flat tire for me. (It was in college and it was very nice of them all to take the time to help since I didn't have a car jack. At least I had a spare tire, even it if was almost bald!)
   
3. I am a process person. I love the process more then the actual results. That has resulted in a lot of unfinished craft-like items. Yes, I do currently have 109 stitching UFO's (that's Un-Finished Items for those of you not in the know.) hanging around my house and a few knitting ones as well. No, I do not want to get rid of any of them. I like them all and at some point I'll probably finish them. If not, I still enjoy working on them when the mood hits me. I do not see this as a problem. I stitch, knit, and a few other things to relax, not to feel like I am tied to yet another commitment. That may be a weird fact, so I'm throwing it in as one.
   
4. I have a very extended family. It's huge. It would be possible for me to visit almost every state in the union and be able to stay with a family member in each of them. There is even one living in China. That would be a cool place to visit, wouldn't it.
   
5. My parents both have brown eyes, dark brown eyes at that. I, on the other hand, have blue/green eyes. Contrary to what my 4th grade teacher taught, this is genetically possible. Slightly rare, but possible. Probably helps that my maternal grandmother had blue eyes, but her mother had almost black eyes. I'm also fair skinned, and both of my parents are more olive skinned. As a child I didn't really look like either of them.
   
6. I spoke with an English accent up until I was about 7. That would be the "Queen's English" thank you very much.
   
7. I've visited 4 other continents, but I've never seen the Pacific Ocean.
   

How's that for random and weird?

I'm not going to tag anyone. If you feel like doing this on your own blog, then consider yourself tagged. Just let me know if you do so I can read what you wrote.

More wedding pictures

I believe at least 1 person mentioned that I didn't include any pictures of the groom, or any of the other men involved in the wedding. Didn't mean to leave them out, but I don't have many of them. Here's the best of what I have.
That's Maria with her sweetheart Curtis. Don't they make a handsome couple?

Then there's this wonderful picture. I think it's my favorite, but then again, I'm a "daddy's girl" just like Maria.Mr. Alfred looks so distinguished, doesn't he? And guess what! He didn't cry. I just knew he would, but he fooled us all and only got, as I think he put it, a little misty eyed.

That does it for now. I know there were some pictures taken by the photographer that I'd love to share, but Maria hasn't gotten a chance to see them yet. So, there may be more at a later date.

It's My Birthday & I'll do what I want to!

Here's the deal. It's my birthday. At the minute this post hits my blog I will officially be another year older.

The truth is I probably won't do exactly what I want to do all day. I have a couple of obligations, especially this evening. But I'll still have a great day. I hope to have some time to sit and stitch, or read or work on a sock pattern I have stuck in my head. I might even find time to stitch or knit and finish listening to The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next Book 1) by Jasper Fforde. I love this book so far and can't wait to see how it ends. Then I'll have to go on a hunt for the next one. I'd like to continue listening to it, so a trip to my favorite used book store will be in order, unless the friend I borrowed this one from has the next one as well. Something to find out.

I've been feeling like I need to try something different. As some of you know, I've been looking for a new job. Had to since apparently I can't live on my looks alone (HA!) and my savings will eventually run out. I've been looking for a job back in my previous field of IT. No programming for me, strictly Quality Assurance, Testing or Business Analyst. However, I still have this feeling that I need to look at other things, try something different. So I'm going to do that. I'm going to do something I've never done and honestly sounds a little crazy to me. I'm going to apply for a job that I'm pretty sure doesn't exist, but I'm also certain should. The key is to get the person who needs my skills to see the need. Oh and I'm going to work on writing a book. I've thought enough about it, so I'm just going to do it. Use this time I have to do something out of the box and see what happens. Maybe it's not as crazy as it sounds to me. Maybe it's perfectly normal. The worst that can happen is someone will tell me no. Big deal, I've heard no before. But if I don't try, I won't know what could happen. So this year I'm going to try something different. I'm going to look at things from a whole different perspective and see what blessings just might come my way.

So, if you feel the need to wish me a Happy Birthday, I appreciate it. But while you're at it, could you send a good thought or prayer my way for the outrageous (or at least it seems outrageous to me right now) things I'm going to do while I look for a job? That would be the best birthday wishes I could get this year.

"Completely corrupt and highly immoral"

Your result for The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test...

The Cardinal

You scored 68% Cardinal, 21% Monk, 32% Lady, and 35% Knight!

You are the real power behind the throne. No one dares dispute or refuse you. Which is good because that's how you get things done. You are also, however, completely corrupt and highly immoral. This doesn't bother you in the least as you lounge around your rich comfortable surroundings, reveling in wealth and authority.

Take The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test at HelloQuizzy

So that's kind of interesting. I don't think of myself as being highly immoral ad corrupt. I know that some of my friends I used to work with always said that I "wasn't the nice one", but I thought that had more to do with DF Michele being really nice as opposed to me being really mean. Hmmm, maybe not huh?

SBQ

It's been awhile since I posted an answer to the SBQ, but thought I'd try and get back into the swing of things with this one.

How do you balance your stitching time with your other obligations
such as work, household chores, etc.?

Balance? What is this balance you speak of? Here's the thing. My stitching, and my knitting and other hobby time, is what I do to relax. So, when I have a few minutes, or when I'm feeling that I need to sit down and relax and just be, then I pull out stitching, or knitting, and work on that. The other thing is I don't like to just sit and do "nothing". If I'm sitting down I'm either reading, stitching or knitting, if I'm not eating. That means I almost never just sit and watch TV. If I'm watching TV, then I'm doing something else, usually stitching, or knitting. So, I guess I don't think of stitching time as something I need to balance, it just happens.

The Wedding Gift

I thought I'd share with you what I gave Maria for her wedding gift. I had called and talked to her about what type of veil she was wearing and when I found out it wasn't one that went over her head, but rather would attach in the back and that she didn't have any "hair jewelry" already I asked if she would like some. So here's what I designed just for her.

 

I love this last picture. I think it shows off her hair and everything so well.

So I made them with some silver wire, some antique Swarovski crystals as well as some that were new, and some lovely slightly lavender seed pearls. I gave her 12 and she ended up using all of them. They were her "something new" and I'm so glad she liked them.

The Rest of the Wedding Story

I know, it's taken me forever, but things happen. So, without further ado, here's the rest of the wedding vacation story. I warn you, this is a REALLY LONG POST.

Thursday morning I went to meet DF Judy's friend and have a lovely cup of coffee and muffin at Starbucks. There is something to be said for a place where you can still enjoy your morning coffee while sitting outside at Starbucks at the end of June. I had decided I wanted to stop by and take a look at High Point College University before I headed over to Lenoir for the wedding weekend.

Boy was I surprised by what I saw. I knew things had changed, but at times I wasn't even sure exactly where I was. The campus was always beautiful and but it's really fantastic now. If you, or someone you know, is looking for a small, liberal arts university, this might be a good place to visit. Let me just say that this wasn't attached to the Student Center when Maria and I ran around campus..
Yes, that's a pool for the students and what you can't see is the hot tub and the cabanas at either end where students can get water, juice and beach towels. The Student Center looked different inside as well. I stumbled in there and was taken pity on by a very nice lady who then called and someone from Alumni Affairs came to give me a tour. It was nice to learn about all the building and what is happening.

I finally left HPU and headed west to Lenoir. I knew I'd found the right place when I saw this...The best part was the near proximity to food stores, so I made a run for water and wine coolers to fill the mini-fridge in my room before Maria arrived and the work started.

Thursday evening was mainly about getting my dress to the seamstress for hemming and getting the silverware Maria had picked up earlier rolled for the reception on Saturday. Well, that and seeing her parents, aunts, cousins, friends...well all the other people who were at her parent's house. Plus Thursday was Maria's birthday, so we had to celebrate. Dinner that evening was at her parent's house and was ribs and all the goodies that you normally associate with ribs in the south like potato salad and baked beans. I don't like beans, I realize this is strange, but they smelled good and everyone else said they were delicious. I do love ribs and potato salad and both were amazing! For desert we had thisI'm pretty sure it was a pound cake. Doesn't matter, it was delicious!!!! I think it was close to midnight when Maria dropped me and her cousin Rosalind and her son back at the hotel.

Friday morning I was up fairly early and met Rosalind at breakfast. Maria and I had planned to run errands Friday since there were some last minute things that needed to get done. She met me at the hotel and I drove us around. Kaye, another of the bridesmaids, joined us for the fun. Nothing out of the ordinary. We did end up going back to the hotel to get Rosalind and her son for a trip to Belk for some shopping. I managed to score a cute pair of flip flops and some stockings for the wedding. Yes, stockings. We all decided that the thought of wearing actual pantyhose under the long dress, with the "foundation garments" necessary to pull off said dress, just wasn't something any of us wanted to do. So stockings were purchased as well. There's something kind of fun about stockings, don't you think? (I'll leave it there for you all to think about.) We also had to make a stop at the Dollar Store for some things. Then it was lunch where Kaye's husband joined us and I think we might have managed to give our server a breakdown.

Friday evening was the rehearsal and dinner. Dinner looked good, but we had eaten so late that all I wanted was the banana pudding. YUMMY!! Plus I got "paged" and had to help Maria sort some things out. The rehearsal was pretty much like every wedding rehearsal. Long. I think we all left knowing what we were supposed to do the next day, so the mission was accomplished.

At some point on Friday, my room became the holding zone for all things flower related for the wedding. Here's what I mean...

The top 2 pictures are all corsages and boutonnières for some of the people who would be attending the wedding. I think I heard the number 100 thrown around, but there might have been less. The bottom picture are the hand pieces the female attendants carried at the wedding. There were more, I didn't think to take the picture until after some people had come by my room after the rehearsal Friday night and picked theirs up. They must have arrived Thursday at some point, because I think I remember Kaye and Rosalind checking the batteries for all of them to make sure they worked. Oh, they had fiber optics and lit up. They were so beautiful.

There was also a "steaming party" in my room after the rehearsal. We had taken the steamer from Maria's mom's house and put it in my room and with help from my trusty assistants Kaye & Rosalind, we steamed several dresses, including ours. It was a late night, but the aforementioned wine coolers helped some.

Saturday dawned fairly early as we had a Bridal Breakfast at 8:30 AM, or some such nonsense. All I know is I didn't get all that much sleep again that night/morning. A couple of pictures of us waiting to leave the hotel for breakfast.

Rosalind & I

Maria & I

Breakfast was another food fest. Scrambled eggs, this amazing baked cheese grit cassarole, bacon, fresh fruit and home made danish one of Maria's aunts had made. It was all delicious.

After breakfast we headed back to the hotel to start getting ready for the wedding. Hair first...

Maria first, plus she needed her nails touched up where they'd gotten chipped.


Then it was my turn. Maria's very talented sister-in-law, also a Teresa, did hair for several of us. We had to let Maria know in advance, and I made sure I got my appointment in when I heard she was willing to help us out. Teresa is not only a talented hair dresser, she's also a lovely person and just plain beautiful. Of course this picture doesn't show off either of us at our best, but hey, it takes effort to look like this...
Didn't Maria look beautiful? I know all brides look beautiful, but really, she's just stunning.

That picture kind of skips ahead to the reception, but what can I say. The wedding went off without a hitch from what I could tell. Well, there was the whole issue with it being pretty hot, and most of the girls feet hurting from the shoes, but in the grand scheme of things, that seems pretty minor now. I don't have pictures of the actual ceremony, I was in it, plus that was a job for a professional. I'm hoping that at some point I'll get to see the pictures the professionals took. I do know that the music was amazing. Oh, they did something different, or at least something I'd never seen. They had a "Sand Ceremony" instead of a unity candle. I liked that a lot better then the unity candle to be honest and must remember to ask Maria where she found it.

Being in the wedding party we were late to the reception and there was absolutely no parking. I ended up parking on a little lane, down the hill from the hall. Let me just say that the trek up the hill, in the dress and the heels didn't help my feet feel any better. Thankfully Kaye & Rosalind had purchased all 3 of us shiny new slippers for the reception and after about 30 minutes of no shoes, I could stand to put those on. My feet thank them still! Bet we still managed to have lots of fun. There was great food, delicious cake, plenty of iced tea and dancing. I partook of all and had fun doing it. Even learned a new dance or two. We partied well into the night. I think it was close to 11 when I drug into got back to my room. I still had to pack so I could leave early enough to meet DF Judy for lunch before my flight home on Sunday.

All in all it was a wonderful weekend. The important things happened. Maria and I got to spend some time together, some just chatting and catching up, some just being together and getting things done. And of course, Maria & Curtis got married. I would not have missed it for the world. I have been blessed to have Maria as my friend all these years. I know we got off to a rocky start. Honestly, we couldn't live in the same room for love nor money. Yes, we were roommates, but not being roommates is what really made us friends. Thanks Maria for letting me share your special day. I wish you and Curtis many happy years of life. May they be filled with the blessings of family, friends and the love you share together, and may God continually bless you both as you journey through this life.

Happy 4th of July

Hope everyone had a safe day and will have an even safer weekend. I spent the morning planting some flowers I bought yesterday. (Sorry, no picture yet.) Spent the evening watching cars go fast in an oval and typing up some patterns I'm going to be teaching this month.

Tomorrow I'll be teaching and then back home to get ready to watch the race in Daytona. I still think of it as the Firecracker 400, guess that shows my age.

I'm working on posts about the wedding. I promise I'll get back to them soon. I've also been stitching. Got to get those ornaments stitched!

Lastly, thanks to all who are serving in our armed forced and for all who have served. I think I've mentioned before that my family seems to be a Navy family. My oldest nephew is active duty and I think he's headed off for Embassy duty soon. To all who serve, all who have served and all who have lost a family member while serving "thank you" doesn't seem like enough. However, that and my prayers are all I can offer. So "Thank You".

Happy 4th of July weekend! Stay safe everyone.

We interrupt wedding coverage...

...to report that:

1. I've actually started stitching on one of the ornaments I have to do for ornament exchange later this month. But no, it's not finished.
2. There will be no coverage today of last weekend due to the stupid toilet overflowing this evening and I'm just too tired from helping to get that straightened out to think about what I did last Thursday. Sorry folks. We'll try again tomorrow. Maybe I'll manage to get Thursday and Friday completed.

Until then here's something pretty to look at.
For those who aren't in the know, that's a Magnolia blossom. It's about as southern as anything I know and I wait, somewhat impatiently, for them to bloom every year.