I'm going to be silent online for probably the better part of this week. I'll do a pre-emptive "I'm okay" here. Please don't worry if I haven't returned your calls or emails.
(i.e. Andi... I'm calling you on Saturday... I promise.)
It comes down to self-punishment for being a slacker. Erich bought me World of Warcraft (that should read War of Worldcrack) for my birthday, and I've already become totally addicted to it... to the point that I haven't kept up on anything else that I should be doing. I've reached the Kicking Myself in the Ass Because I'm Going Insane state.
So this week I really need to buckle down and catch up on stuff.
I'm okay. Really. Just really stupid and lazy.
See you over the weekend...
~ Mel.
30 January 2006
27 January 2006
Flashbulb
Twenty years ago tomorrow, at about this time...
I was at recess in fifth grade. There was snow out in the field of the playground, so we were all on the blacktop, per school rules if we didn't have boots. (I always forgot my boots).
It was a sunny day. Cold, of course, since it was January.
Mrs. Arnold raised her arm, indicating that it was time to line back up to go in. We were confused-- there was no way that it was time to go in yet. She gathered us all around, and said that she knew it wasn't time to go in, but there was something important to tell us. The Challenger shuttle had just exploded.
We had a moment of silence. I stared at the blacktop at the shady outline of everyone's shoes from the sun. I smelled the grit of the asphalt. I heard the clink of the tetherball chains against their poles in the wind.
Every generation has one of these memories-- the FIRST flashbulb memory that connects us as a generation. JFK, 9/11...
This was mine.
I was at recess in fifth grade. There was snow out in the field of the playground, so we were all on the blacktop, per school rules if we didn't have boots. (I always forgot my boots).
It was a sunny day. Cold, of course, since it was January.
Mrs. Arnold raised her arm, indicating that it was time to line back up to go in. We were confused-- there was no way that it was time to go in yet. She gathered us all around, and said that she knew it wasn't time to go in, but there was something important to tell us. The Challenger shuttle had just exploded.
We had a moment of silence. I stared at the blacktop at the shady outline of everyone's shoes from the sun. I smelled the grit of the asphalt. I heard the clink of the tetherball chains against their poles in the wind.
Every generation has one of these memories-- the FIRST flashbulb memory that connects us as a generation. JFK, 9/11...
This was mine.
18 January 2006
Wedding Planning: Attack of the Guest List
Erich and I took advantage of our commute home last night to comprise our off-the-top-of-our-heads guest list. We took turns, writing two lines per turn, of a family or household that we want to invite. I'd thought we would barely get to 75, leaving a comfort zone for the parental units to add a limited number of not-listed friends that they wanted to invite.
In less than a half hour, we were close to if not slightly over 100 people between just the two of us.
Shit-- we know this many people?!? How?!? When?!? Where?!? (what... why... who...)
This puts a bit of a wrench in things. The original thought was to have a small, somewhat intimate (subjectively speaking, in a wedding sense) gathering of around 75 people. While granted, it's still not a guestlist of Epic Polish Wedding (tm) proportions, that off-the-cuff number shocked me.
But, I think what I'll do is type up the list and email it to my parents anyway, and ask Erich to do the same for his, so we can discuss a final list. I'm going to try like hell to keep it limited to only the 'rents, although I imagine my grandfather will probably insist on a few invites.
It definitely changes the type of place at which we'll book our reception. My original hope was a wonderful place-- elegant in a tasteful, understated sort of way in downtown Providence. The food was fantastic. BUT.. when we got the estimate, they were asking approximately $200 a head, PLUS rental fees.
Um... yeah. No. Running. Away. Now.
So it's back to the drawing board on the hall for now. There's a bridal reception in Cranston on the last weekend of the month. I bought tickets. Maybe it'll help. Maybe not. Hopefully it will help me become familiar with some of the vendors in the area and give me some alternative reception ideas.
How the hell do we know 100 people?!?
In less than a half hour, we were close to if not slightly over 100 people between just the two of us.
Shit-- we know this many people?!? How?!? When?!? Where?!? (what... why... who...)
This puts a bit of a wrench in things. The original thought was to have a small, somewhat intimate (subjectively speaking, in a wedding sense) gathering of around 75 people. While granted, it's still not a guestlist of Epic Polish Wedding (tm) proportions, that off-the-cuff number shocked me.
But, I think what I'll do is type up the list and email it to my parents anyway, and ask Erich to do the same for his, so we can discuss a final list. I'm going to try like hell to keep it limited to only the 'rents, although I imagine my grandfather will probably insist on a few invites.
It definitely changes the type of place at which we'll book our reception. My original hope was a wonderful place-- elegant in a tasteful, understated sort of way in downtown Providence. The food was fantastic. BUT.. when we got the estimate, they were asking approximately $200 a head, PLUS rental fees.
Um... yeah. No. Running. Away. Now.
So it's back to the drawing board on the hall for now. There's a bridal reception in Cranston on the last weekend of the month. I bought tickets. Maybe it'll help. Maybe not. Hopefully it will help me become familiar with some of the vendors in the area and give me some alternative reception ideas.
How the hell do we know 100 people?!?
Boston Windtunnel
During lunch I needed to go to the post office on Stuart Street. It didn't seem too bad out there on Boylston-- overcast. Maybe drizzling a little. But eh, okay. I'll live.
Then I turned onto Clarendon Street, and the joy of my two block walking experiment started. It was gusting pretty hard up the street. I had to lean into the wind a bit to keep my footing.
Okay, I'll take it slow. No problems.
First block was accomplished. I was knocked a bit to the side, but nothing too bad.
As I crossed over St. James, I felt my glasses start to rattle on my nose. I held them in place with two fingers of my right hand as I continued across the street. Once I was across the street, I took my glasses and slipped them into my coat pocket for protection. I'd rather walk somewhat blind down a sidewalk than have my glasses fly off into goddess knows where. My eyesight's good enough that I can walk down a street and survive fairly well. Just don't let me drive that way.
I continued toward the buildings and the spot where Erich proposed to me last year. But before I got there, the wind got worse. Someone dropped an entire report of what must have been a hundred or more pages of paper-- the pages instantly flew up at least 15-20 stories and swirled in the air. Some pages landed in the treetops. Others looked like sea birds diving into the ocean for fish.
The wind gusted higher, and thud! I was on my ass. On the sidewalk. Just like that. And not just me-- by the somewhat fuzzy shapes I could see, so did several other people. I wasn't hurt at all. Fat ass=good padding. But I was stunned by the fact that I was literally just knocked down by the wind while standing still. I managed to get up and grab onto the nearest tree before the next gust came. I stood there, hanging onto the tree, waiting for the gust to die down so I could go to the next tree.
It didn't die down. It just kept coming. I waited for a few minutes-- through three changing light cycles. No breaks.
Fine. Great. Onward.
I took a deep breath, and carefully started forward, aiming to get to the next tree that stood approximately ten feet away. Got there. Grab on. Take a breath. Onward.
I finally got to the post office. I looked at the clock. It had taken me nearly 35 minutes to go two blocks.
Got the stuff I needed. Time to head back. Which took me 45 minutes. Now I had both wind AND horizontal rain to deal with. Plus, I was walking with the wind, so I had to be more careful in how I leaned as I went down the street. It was a routine-- get to the tree. Latch. Breathe. Take a moment to get a sense of how things are. Detach. Trundle trundle trundle. New tree. Latch. Breathe...
After that, I'm definitely awake. But I think I've gotten my workout for the day.
Me thinks I'll do the roundabout way of getting to South Station tonight-- Green Line to Park, Red Line to South.
Screw trying my normal route again today. Ugh.
Then I turned onto Clarendon Street, and the joy of my two block walking experiment started. It was gusting pretty hard up the street. I had to lean into the wind a bit to keep my footing.
Okay, I'll take it slow. No problems.
First block was accomplished. I was knocked a bit to the side, but nothing too bad.
As I crossed over St. James, I felt my glasses start to rattle on my nose. I held them in place with two fingers of my right hand as I continued across the street. Once I was across the street, I took my glasses and slipped them into my coat pocket for protection. I'd rather walk somewhat blind down a sidewalk than have my glasses fly off into goddess knows where. My eyesight's good enough that I can walk down a street and survive fairly well. Just don't let me drive that way.
I continued toward the buildings and the spot where Erich proposed to me last year. But before I got there, the wind got worse. Someone dropped an entire report of what must have been a hundred or more pages of paper-- the pages instantly flew up at least 15-20 stories and swirled in the air. Some pages landed in the treetops. Others looked like sea birds diving into the ocean for fish.
The wind gusted higher, and thud! I was on my ass. On the sidewalk. Just like that. And not just me-- by the somewhat fuzzy shapes I could see, so did several other people. I wasn't hurt at all. Fat ass=good padding. But I was stunned by the fact that I was literally just knocked down by the wind while standing still. I managed to get up and grab onto the nearest tree before the next gust came. I stood there, hanging onto the tree, waiting for the gust to die down so I could go to the next tree.
It didn't die down. It just kept coming. I waited for a few minutes-- through three changing light cycles. No breaks.
Fine. Great. Onward.
I took a deep breath, and carefully started forward, aiming to get to the next tree that stood approximately ten feet away. Got there. Grab on. Take a breath. Onward.
I finally got to the post office. I looked at the clock. It had taken me nearly 35 minutes to go two blocks.
Got the stuff I needed. Time to head back. Which took me 45 minutes. Now I had both wind AND horizontal rain to deal with. Plus, I was walking with the wind, so I had to be more careful in how I leaned as I went down the street. It was a routine-- get to the tree. Latch. Breathe. Take a moment to get a sense of how things are. Detach. Trundle trundle trundle. New tree. Latch. Breathe...
After that, I'm definitely awake. But I think I've gotten my workout for the day.
Me thinks I'll do the roundabout way of getting to South Station tonight-- Green Line to Park, Red Line to South.
Screw trying my normal route again today. Ugh.
16 January 2006
A long weekend of ffflah...
Oh Patriots, how painful that was. Really. I was trying to find a way to blame it on something... anything. Was it the elevation in Denver? Did someone eat something disagreeable? Was there liquid heat in your jockstraps? Alas, I couldn't find a reason. It definitely wasn't the cold-- it was FIFTY-TWO FRIGGIN DEGREES IN COLORADO IN JANUARY (!!!!).
But yes, the Patriots sucked. Hard. And lost.
Le sigh.
Watching that killer of a Steelers-Colts game, though, made up for it. Damn, what a fantastic post-season nailbiter.
I'm rooting for the Steelers now, FYI. I grew up with Broncos fans. Ugh.
-----
Anyway, the rest of the weekend was basically downtime. It rained all day Saturday. It snowed all day Sunday, introducing the cold air that New England has oddly been lacking so far this season. The cold air came back with a vengeance, too. For the past two days, I've felt the drafts creaking through the joints in the house. Next summer's project is definitely to get the windows taken out, reglazed, restrung, and insulated.
I've done a lot of stitching. I've caught up on some bills and email. But other than that, it's been uneventful.
I really, really don't want to go to work tomorrow.
---
A huge thank you to the sixteen people who have popped out of lurker-dom (or non-lurker-dom) to say hi this week. I'll be checking into everyone's journals that were left. :)
~ Mel.
But yes, the Patriots sucked. Hard. And lost.
Le sigh.
Watching that killer of a Steelers-Colts game, though, made up for it. Damn, what a fantastic post-season nailbiter.
I'm rooting for the Steelers now, FYI. I grew up with Broncos fans. Ugh.
-----
Anyway, the rest of the weekend was basically downtime. It rained all day Saturday. It snowed all day Sunday, introducing the cold air that New England has oddly been lacking so far this season. The cold air came back with a vengeance, too. For the past two days, I've felt the drafts creaking through the joints in the house. Next summer's project is definitely to get the windows taken out, reglazed, restrung, and insulated.
I've done a lot of stitching. I've caught up on some bills and email. But other than that, it's been uneventful.
I really, really don't want to go to work tomorrow.
---
A huge thank you to the sixteen people who have popped out of lurker-dom (or non-lurker-dom) to say hi this week. I'll be checking into everyone's journals that were left. :)
~ Mel.
National De-Lurking Week
There are more entries under this one for the week of Jan. 9th through 15th, but this will be tagged at the top until the 16th passes by.
As remembered by TranceJen, it's National De-lurking week. So if you read, please just drop a "hi." Like other bloggers, I love hearing from people. Even if I don't always respond to comments-- it can feel like talking to a wall when writing onto an internet site.
So please...
To make this a bit fun, and since it's on-topic for this week ... if you care to share, please drop in something about a birthday of yours that you remember (fondly or not). :)
As remembered by TranceJen, it's National De-lurking week. So if you read, please just drop a "hi." Like other bloggers, I love hearing from people. Even if I don't always respond to comments-- it can feel like talking to a wall when writing onto an internet site.
So please...
To make this a bit fun, and since it's on-topic for this week ... if you care to share, please drop in something about a birthday of yours that you remember (fondly or not). :)
13 January 2006
Almost done!
I'm slowly but surely finishing up The Castle. As of Monday, this is what mine looked like:
I'm working on the final stretch of rocks below the long tail of the dragon now. I'm hoping to get it done by the end of the month. It's definitely feasible, but I'm thinking mid-February is a definite.
Then all I have to do is the backstitching for the lower half of the pattern... and it's DONE. (and then I'll just pick up another Teresa Wentzler and punish myself again... hee!)
Ivanna's wedding blessing is coming along very well so far. I've put about 15 hours into Apache Wedding Blessing (to be known until I finish as "Apache")-- a lot of it watching playoff football.
The shadowing on this piece isn't as noticeable when I'm looking at it on a hoop, but in this photo, it's definitely there. With how definited the feather already is, I'm curious to see how strong it will be once I get some backstitching on it!
This weekend, I'll be focusing more on Apache, but I'll definitely do some work on both of them. It's coming along well!
~ Mel.
I'm working on the final stretch of rocks below the long tail of the dragon now. I'm hoping to get it done by the end of the month. It's definitely feasible, but I'm thinking mid-February is a definite.
Then all I have to do is the backstitching for the lower half of the pattern... and it's DONE. (and then I'll just pick up another Teresa Wentzler and punish myself again... hee!)
Ivanna's wedding blessing is coming along very well so far. I've put about 15 hours into Apache Wedding Blessing (to be known until I finish as "Apache")-- a lot of it watching playoff football.
The shadowing on this piece isn't as noticeable when I'm looking at it on a hoop, but in this photo, it's definitely there. With how definited the feather already is, I'm curious to see how strong it will be once I get some backstitching on it!
This weekend, I'll be focusing more on Apache, but I'll definitely do some work on both of them. It's coming along well!
~ Mel.
11 January 2006
Another year older...
Foxwoods yesterday was fun. I didn't return home rich or anything. I did, thankfully return with some of my money in my pocket. But I lost two-thirds of what I brought with me, so... meh. But the company was fun, and going to the casino is always fun, so hey... it makes up for it. You can't go to a casino with money you're not willing to lose.
So yeah, thirty-one. Of course, it's no different than being thirty. It's a number. They're all numbers until the year 2015, when that four gets stuck as the first digit of my age. But I did wonder this morning what thirty-one can bring after the wild year of age thirty. Gah.
I'd decided last night to stay home today. Erich followed suit this morning, after the alarm went off at our normal time and my allergies kicked in, thus preventing me from going back to bed. As he zonked back off to sleep, I padded downstairs to the living room, flipped on the TV, and kinda-but-not-really watched SportsCenter as the Annual Thought came to mind.
Does my birth mother have that Annual Thought every year, too? I'd like to think that she does. But after thirty-one years, I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't. I mean, really-- she was seventeen when I was born.
Ahem... anyway... she was seventeen, and I was adopted out. Obviously, I was a mistake. I have no problem accepting that idea. But how painful a mistake? And thirty-one years out, I guess I just wonder if it's so painful that she's just shoved it into some dark part of her psyche. Despite not knowing her, the idea that such pain could exist saddens me. And from my own history, I know it could happen. Does genetics play a part in such behavior? Do I act like her and not know it? I mean... you hear about identical twins raised apart who still are incredibly alike. Could that happen between mother and daughter?
This is the crazy stuff I think about as an adoptee, by the way. Not knowing who your biological parents are throws some really weird ideas into your head to play with. Some are stupid as hell. Some aren't. The creative writer's mind plus all of this unknown stuff to swirl around in the brain really starts to build some crazy-ass concepts, though.
I guess somewhere deep down, I have this strange little hope that she does think of me, even ever so briefly, each year on January 11th. It's essentially my only connection to her at all. I don't know who she is. I don't know where she is. So this is what I have.
And this morning, like I have since I was old enough to understand it, I quietly thank her... wherever she is.
So yeah, thirty-one. Of course, it's no different than being thirty. It's a number. They're all numbers until the year 2015, when that four gets stuck as the first digit of my age. But I did wonder this morning what thirty-one can bring after the wild year of age thirty. Gah.
I'd decided last night to stay home today. Erich followed suit this morning, after the alarm went off at our normal time and my allergies kicked in, thus preventing me from going back to bed. As he zonked back off to sleep, I padded downstairs to the living room, flipped on the TV, and kinda-but-not-really watched SportsCenter as the Annual Thought came to mind.
Does my birth mother have that Annual Thought every year, too? I'd like to think that she does. But after thirty-one years, I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't. I mean, really-- she was seventeen when I was born.
- Segwaying thought... which means yes, my biological mother has not yet reached fifty-- as a woman in my thirties in this day-and-age, that's just FREAKY to me. On this date at her age, she had a biological daughter about to enter high school. nnnngggyyyaaahhhh! *shudders in fear*
Ahem... anyway... she was seventeen, and I was adopted out. Obviously, I was a mistake. I have no problem accepting that idea. But how painful a mistake? And thirty-one years out, I guess I just wonder if it's so painful that she's just shoved it into some dark part of her psyche. Despite not knowing her, the idea that such pain could exist saddens me. And from my own history, I know it could happen. Does genetics play a part in such behavior? Do I act like her and not know it? I mean... you hear about identical twins raised apart who still are incredibly alike. Could that happen between mother and daughter?
This is the crazy stuff I think about as an adoptee, by the way. Not knowing who your biological parents are throws some really weird ideas into your head to play with. Some are stupid as hell. Some aren't. The creative writer's mind plus all of this unknown stuff to swirl around in the brain really starts to build some crazy-ass concepts, though.
I guess somewhere deep down, I have this strange little hope that she does think of me, even ever so briefly, each year on January 11th. It's essentially my only connection to her at all. I don't know who she is. I don't know where she is. So this is what I have.
And this morning, like I have since I was old enough to understand it, I quietly thank her... wherever she is.
09 January 2006
Continuing Changes
Some possible good news on the resume front-- won't comment too much yet, but things look quite good. :) The friendly vibes have been much appreciated! :) I'll fill more in here as I can. I'm thinking that everything might go very, very fast in this regard. Which would be wonderful.
In my last entry, I received some great topics to write about... all will be, in some form or another. But I did want to touch quickly on one-- the wedding plans. No huge updates there yet. We heard back from the reception site after the holidays, and received their catering menu. Erich loves the place. So do I. So does my mom. So I'm 99.9% sure where we're having the reception. I need to get in touch with my mom to discuss it this weekend, though. And then we'll move forward.
For now, though, that's where the wedding plans sit. Not much has been done, and I'll admit, I'm being too lazy about this. Part of me really wants to have a beautiful, well-planned wedding. Another part of me just wants to hide from the whole thing and still lean toward "Poof! You're married. Kiss her." But I'll admit, being able to fit in a dress that wasn't some hideous mess of making-me-look-fatter-than-I-am heavy material made me feel quite a bit better.
I can't believe it's over a week into January already. In keeping with an unintentional family tradition, the Christmas tree came down last night-- it's always the weekend before my birthday for some reason. I'm still worried that an ornament was left on the tree, but I didn't see any. Paranoid me will probably take another look through it tomorrow morning, though. :)
Speaking of birthdays-- it honestly snuck up on me this year. Usually, since it's so close to the New Year, I'm constantly reflecting on what I did and didn't like about age XX up until Jan. 11th. This year, not so much. I turn 31 the day after tomorrow. I really can't do anything but sit back in somewhat stunned silence about it all. Almost everything in my life is different than a year ago. I think it'll take another year until my head stops spinning. But this weekend, I looked at a calendar and did a double-take to realize that my birthday was in less than a week.
I'll be in the office on my birthday. I am, however, taking tomorrow off from work. The reason why I'm switching is due to our World's Largest Dungeon game tonight at Battleground. It normally goes until sometime in the 11:30 to midnight range. Then Erich and I drive back to Providence, which takes anywhere from 45-60 minutes, depending on how exhausted we are. It makes for a bitch of a morning to get up and catch the train. Erich has started to just take those Tuesdays off as recovery/personal days. Since this one fell on the 10th, it just made sense to take it off and celebrate my birthday a day early. In the afternoon and into the early evening, I'll be at Foxwoods with the guys, praying to win some extra birthday cash playing video poker and an hour or two of table games. Conveniently enough, our Sunday paper had a four-page advertisement flyer with discounts and free drawing giveaways for Foxwoods-- many of which will be taken with us. :)
Ivanna had mentioned last week that she was most likely coming up to the area for some job training today-Wednesday afternoon. Depending on her schedule, I'll try to touch base with her later tomorrow evening.
Other than work, I've been focusing a lot on my stitching the past two weeks. I've put in around 24 hours since New Year's Day, and my projects definitely are showing the work. I'll upload new photos tomorrow.
Before we hit the casino tomorrow, I'll tackle one of the great topics that were recommended. If anyone has more, just toss them out... :)
In my last entry, I received some great topics to write about... all will be, in some form or another. But I did want to touch quickly on one-- the wedding plans. No huge updates there yet. We heard back from the reception site after the holidays, and received their catering menu. Erich loves the place. So do I. So does my mom. So I'm 99.9% sure where we're having the reception. I need to get in touch with my mom to discuss it this weekend, though. And then we'll move forward.
For now, though, that's where the wedding plans sit. Not much has been done, and I'll admit, I'm being too lazy about this. Part of me really wants to have a beautiful, well-planned wedding. Another part of me just wants to hide from the whole thing and still lean toward "Poof! You're married. Kiss her." But I'll admit, being able to fit in a dress that wasn't some hideous mess of making-me-look-fatter-than-I-am heavy material made me feel quite a bit better.
I can't believe it's over a week into January already. In keeping with an unintentional family tradition, the Christmas tree came down last night-- it's always the weekend before my birthday for some reason. I'm still worried that an ornament was left on the tree, but I didn't see any. Paranoid me will probably take another look through it tomorrow morning, though. :)
Speaking of birthdays-- it honestly snuck up on me this year. Usually, since it's so close to the New Year, I'm constantly reflecting on what I did and didn't like about age XX up until Jan. 11th. This year, not so much. I turn 31 the day after tomorrow. I really can't do anything but sit back in somewhat stunned silence about it all. Almost everything in my life is different than a year ago. I think it'll take another year until my head stops spinning. But this weekend, I looked at a calendar and did a double-take to realize that my birthday was in less than a week.
I'll be in the office on my birthday. I am, however, taking tomorrow off from work. The reason why I'm switching is due to our World's Largest Dungeon game tonight at Battleground. It normally goes until sometime in the 11:30 to midnight range. Then Erich and I drive back to Providence, which takes anywhere from 45-60 minutes, depending on how exhausted we are. It makes for a bitch of a morning to get up and catch the train. Erich has started to just take those Tuesdays off as recovery/personal days. Since this one fell on the 10th, it just made sense to take it off and celebrate my birthday a day early. In the afternoon and into the early evening, I'll be at Foxwoods with the guys, praying to win some extra birthday cash playing video poker and an hour or two of table games. Conveniently enough, our Sunday paper had a four-page advertisement flyer with discounts and free drawing giveaways for Foxwoods-- many of which will be taken with us. :)
Ivanna had mentioned last week that she was most likely coming up to the area for some job training today-Wednesday afternoon. Depending on her schedule, I'll try to touch base with her later tomorrow evening.
Other than work, I've been focusing a lot on my stitching the past two weeks. I've put in around 24 hours since New Year's Day, and my projects definitely are showing the work. I'll upload new photos tomorrow.
Before we hit the casino tomorrow, I'll tackle one of the great topics that were recommended. If anyone has more, just toss them out... :)
05 January 2006
SBQ's
I'm honestly drained of writing ideas-- anyone have topic suggestions?
Until I find some inspiration, I'll catch up on my Stitcher Blogging Questions...
12/28/05: How do you balance your stitching time with your other obligations such as work, household chores, etc.?
It hasn't been a struggle for me. If I have too much to do house-wise, it annoys me so much that I just don't stitch. If I were doing more obligation stitching, I may feel a bit more stressed about it. But I stitch when I have the free time and feel like pulling my hoop into my lap.
At the moment, I have a one-hour train ride each way to commute to work-- so when I'm awake, that's nearly two full hours of stitching every day. When the weather's lousy, I'll eat at work (now that we can buy food in the building) and possibly get in about 15-20 minutes of stitching. Evenings depend on what's going on at the house-- we rarely do any big cleaning projects on weekday evenings because we don't get home until 7 p.m. At this time of year, it's dark before we leave Boston anyway- so outdoor projects are definitely out. Dishes and a load of laundry are really all that can be done on weeknights.
On Tuesday and Wednesday nights, I'm guaranteed stitching time because Erich has "clan night" for one of two games with the guys-- World of Warcraft (Tuesdays) and Halo 2 (Wednesday). I usually plunk on the couch, turn on the TV, and grab a hoop.
So yeah... it's not a big deal. If kids factor in the picture, I know that will definitely change things.
1/4/06: Do you do your stash shopping at your LNS, ONS, or both? Which do you like better? Why?
I prefer to shop via the local store (LNS) because I feel there's really no substitute to surrounding yourself with the projects available, looking at sample work in person, and seeing the threads up close. But I have done a lot of online shopping as well. Ususally when I do online shopping, I don't go through a store, though-- it's usually through ebay or a person-to-person transaction off one of the discussion boards I belong to.
~ Mel.
Until I find some inspiration, I'll catch up on my Stitcher Blogging Questions...
12/28/05: How do you balance your stitching time with your other obligations such as work, household chores, etc.?
It hasn't been a struggle for me. If I have too much to do house-wise, it annoys me so much that I just don't stitch. If I were doing more obligation stitching, I may feel a bit more stressed about it. But I stitch when I have the free time and feel like pulling my hoop into my lap.
At the moment, I have a one-hour train ride each way to commute to work-- so when I'm awake, that's nearly two full hours of stitching every day. When the weather's lousy, I'll eat at work (now that we can buy food in the building) and possibly get in about 15-20 minutes of stitching. Evenings depend on what's going on at the house-- we rarely do any big cleaning projects on weekday evenings because we don't get home until 7 p.m. At this time of year, it's dark before we leave Boston anyway- so outdoor projects are definitely out. Dishes and a load of laundry are really all that can be done on weeknights.
On Tuesday and Wednesday nights, I'm guaranteed stitching time because Erich has "clan night" for one of two games with the guys-- World of Warcraft (Tuesdays) and Halo 2 (Wednesday). I usually plunk on the couch, turn on the TV, and grab a hoop.
So yeah... it's not a big deal. If kids factor in the picture, I know that will definitely change things.
1/4/06: Do you do your stash shopping at your LNS, ONS, or both? Which do you like better? Why?
I prefer to shop via the local store (LNS) because I feel there's really no substitute to surrounding yourself with the projects available, looking at sample work in person, and seeing the threads up close. But I have done a lot of online shopping as well. Ususally when I do online shopping, I don't go through a store, though-- it's usually through ebay or a person-to-person transaction off one of the discussion boards I belong to.
~ Mel.
04 January 2006
A new year for craftiness
Sometime around Yule, I received a postcard in the mail from my local stitching addiction supply store that they were having a storewide sale on threads at the end of the year. As in, 30% off. Which meant that I could get the big-time supplies that add up in a hurry for a heck of a lot less money.
I quickly pulled out all of my patterns, and over Christmas weekend, developed my crafting plans for 2006. On Friday the 30th, I headed up to the store, gift money in hand, to have some fun. $80 later, I'm ready to go. I'm missing only two colors for one pattern, which I'll search for this Saturday. All of these threads were the more expensive kind- overdyed and hand-dyed silk threads that I'm honestly a bit nervous to stitch with because I know they're not colorfast and somehow I already sense a can of Diet Coke sneaking quietly up to them in the storage drawer, threatening to pour itself over them. But I'm also excited to try some new threads. It's a step up in the stitching advancement department. :)
My entire year of stitching is starting to firm up. I have several projects that are "works in progress" from last year. I have about a dozen others that have all supplies ready to go. And I'm psyched-- it's going to be a fun year of craftiness.
The big goals for this year are:
- Finish both wedding samplers (mine and Ivanna's)
- Finish two Teresa Wentzler pieces (The Castle and something else)
- Finish 5 other pieces (of any size)
This might get revised, but with the condition of my pieces, I think this is definitely do-able.
Here's my working rotation for the 1st round of 2006. I'm estmating that this will take me through about mid-February or so. I'm working it at 20 hour intervals:
Apache Wedding Blessing <-- current at home
TW slot (The Castle) <-- current traveling plus weekends
Cat slot (Staircase)
Wedding Blessing
Finishing slot/mini piece (will be used to backstitch. If no backstitching needed, I'll work on a really small piece here)
I started Ivanna's Wedding Blessing sampler this past weekend. So far, it's stitching up surprisingly easily and quickly- but it's still a mass of jumbled stitches at the moment, so I won't put up a photo until the weekend. At this rate, I may have it done within a couple of months.
I'm also still carrying my second rotation piece, The Castle, back and forth with me to work. It guarantees me at least one hour (and possibly 2, if my brain is awake enough in the morning to stitch) to work on the project every day. I only have about 10% left to go on it-- just some lower rocks plus the backstitching of the lower half of the pattern. And then it's done. Could I possibly finish this by the end of January?
It would be nice. :) Really, really nice. And it's very possible. (yay!)
My entire rotation might wind up going this way for a while: working a wedding sampler at home. Carrying the other pieces with me on the train. I honestly don't care, as long as the pieces are progressing. And I'd really, REALLY like to have some multiple finishes this year.
Once the wedding samplers are done, I'll take one of those slots and make it into a small to medium piece (any designer OTHER than Teresa Wentzler) slot. The other one will probably be open to whatever is screaming the loudest at me to start it. :)
It should be a very interesting craft year.
I quickly pulled out all of my patterns, and over Christmas weekend, developed my crafting plans for 2006. On Friday the 30th, I headed up to the store, gift money in hand, to have some fun. $80 later, I'm ready to go. I'm missing only two colors for one pattern, which I'll search for this Saturday. All of these threads were the more expensive kind- overdyed and hand-dyed silk threads that I'm honestly a bit nervous to stitch with because I know they're not colorfast and somehow I already sense a can of Diet Coke sneaking quietly up to them in the storage drawer, threatening to pour itself over them. But I'm also excited to try some new threads. It's a step up in the stitching advancement department. :)
My entire year of stitching is starting to firm up. I have several projects that are "works in progress" from last year. I have about a dozen others that have all supplies ready to go. And I'm psyched-- it's going to be a fun year of craftiness.
The big goals for this year are:
- Finish both wedding samplers (mine and Ivanna's)
- Finish two Teresa Wentzler pieces (The Castle and something else)
- Finish 5 other pieces (of any size)
This might get revised, but with the condition of my pieces, I think this is definitely do-able.
Here's my working rotation for the 1st round of 2006. I'm estmating that this will take me through about mid-February or so. I'm working it at 20 hour intervals:
Apache Wedding Blessing <-- current at home
TW slot (The Castle) <-- current traveling plus weekends
Cat slot (Staircase)
Wedding Blessing
Finishing slot/mini piece (will be used to backstitch. If no backstitching needed, I'll work on a really small piece here)
I started Ivanna's Wedding Blessing sampler this past weekend. So far, it's stitching up surprisingly easily and quickly- but it's still a mass of jumbled stitches at the moment, so I won't put up a photo until the weekend. At this rate, I may have it done within a couple of months.
I'm also still carrying my second rotation piece, The Castle, back and forth with me to work. It guarantees me at least one hour (and possibly 2, if my brain is awake enough in the morning to stitch) to work on the project every day. I only have about 10% left to go on it-- just some lower rocks plus the backstitching of the lower half of the pattern. And then it's done. Could I possibly finish this by the end of January?
It would be nice. :) Really, really nice. And it's very possible. (yay!)
My entire rotation might wind up going this way for a while: working a wedding sampler at home. Carrying the other pieces with me on the train. I honestly don't care, as long as the pieces are progressing. And I'd really, REALLY like to have some multiple finishes this year.
Once the wedding samplers are done, I'll take one of those slots and make it into a small to medium piece (any designer OTHER than Teresa Wentzler) slot. The other one will probably be open to whatever is screaming the loudest at me to start it. :)
It should be a very interesting craft year.
03 January 2006
Changes in the Wind
It's been over five years since I've taken a look at the ol' resume. I honestly don't know where the electronic copy has gone. It's probably buried in the hard drive of a computer two cycles old.
But as I cleaned through our department files last week, I found a hard copy of my resume in my manager's files, still sealed in a pink confidential envelope dated July 2000. Never opened.
Interesting...
Anyway, I photocopied the resume and the attached materials and added the original into my personnel file. I took the photocopy home.
It's time to polish it and cast it out into the river of employment opportunities to see if anything bites. I'm stagnant here. I need to grow and don't have any opportunities where I am.
It's now been sent to a couple of friends who offered to pass it along. Cross your fingers.
But as I cleaned through our department files last week, I found a hard copy of my resume in my manager's files, still sealed in a pink confidential envelope dated July 2000. Never opened.
Interesting...
Anyway, I photocopied the resume and the attached materials and added the original into my personnel file. I took the photocopy home.
It's time to polish it and cast it out into the river of employment opportunities to see if anything bites. I'm stagnant here. I need to grow and don't have any opportunities where I am.
It's now been sent to a couple of friends who offered to pass it along. Cross your fingers.
One plus two plus two plus one
One fun and crazy New Year's Eve recipe:
24 (or so) gamer geeks
a plethora of booze
one yankee swap themed to "game night"
enough appetizers to feed a small army
one gothic revival mini-mansion
one murder mystery with parts for everyone
Press play.
We had a blast on New Year's Eve. A gentle snow was falling. The weather began relatively warm, but did get quite cold by midnight. Chris set up an outdoor fire in his grill for the folks who needed cigarettes throughout the evening. The babies in attendance were amazingly behaved and once asleep, stayed that way despite the party going on all around them.
Best yet, though, was that a new NYE tradition was quite possibly founded, and it happened in the best of ways-- on a whim. Dan and Toni, who are long-time folks in my outer circle of friends, were unable to get a gift for this year's Yankee Swap due to their Hanukkah celebrations with relatives. So instead, they went online to a website that had downloadable Murder Mystery games. Apparently the site has games for anywhere from 6 to 200 people, and you just select a game for the appropriate number. All of the pages are in PDF format-- you just need to print, compile, and distribute. So Dan and Toni announced this once everyone arrived and distributed characters.
For a party comprised of approximately 20 Dungeons & Dragons players, it took no time at all to get into character and have a blast. The scene was the opening night of a speakeasy in Chicago in the early 1920's.
The funniest thing was that despite couples being written into the different parts, no real-life couple was cast as a married couple. Instead, we were all joined through our character's romantic affairs. :) I was assigned the part of Donna Wannabe, a 24 year old flapper girl who loved the social life of the speakeasies and spending her time with actors and dreaming of going to Hollywood. Thankfully, we weren't required to come in costume for this-- because my size 24 body would not have been very good in the recommended flapper dress. :)
Throughout the night, certain characters were "killed", per a to-do list on each of our individual character profiles. My list had no murders, but I was able to do a lot of gossip and shit-stirring. Thankfully, the part of the flapper girl gave me the perfect excuse to help myself to one too many cosmos-- the alcohol definitely made me a bit more outgoing. As part of the atmosphere of the night, I was tempted to "kill" someone in the ballroom and leave a candlestick next to them, though. Just to be a brat.
:)
So much fun. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a rip-roaring party with their friends!
24 (or so) gamer geeks
a plethora of booze
one yankee swap themed to "game night"
enough appetizers to feed a small army
one gothic revival mini-mansion
one murder mystery with parts for everyone
Press play.
We had a blast on New Year's Eve. A gentle snow was falling. The weather began relatively warm, but did get quite cold by midnight. Chris set up an outdoor fire in his grill for the folks who needed cigarettes throughout the evening. The babies in attendance were amazingly behaved and once asleep, stayed that way despite the party going on all around them.
Best yet, though, was that a new NYE tradition was quite possibly founded, and it happened in the best of ways-- on a whim. Dan and Toni, who are long-time folks in my outer circle of friends, were unable to get a gift for this year's Yankee Swap due to their Hanukkah celebrations with relatives. So instead, they went online to a website that had downloadable Murder Mystery games. Apparently the site has games for anywhere from 6 to 200 people, and you just select a game for the appropriate number. All of the pages are in PDF format-- you just need to print, compile, and distribute. So Dan and Toni announced this once everyone arrived and distributed characters.
For a party comprised of approximately 20 Dungeons & Dragons players, it took no time at all to get into character and have a blast. The scene was the opening night of a speakeasy in Chicago in the early 1920's.
The funniest thing was that despite couples being written into the different parts, no real-life couple was cast as a married couple. Instead, we were all joined through our character's romantic affairs. :) I was assigned the part of Donna Wannabe, a 24 year old flapper girl who loved the social life of the speakeasies and spending her time with actors and dreaming of going to Hollywood. Thankfully, we weren't required to come in costume for this-- because my size 24 body would not have been very good in the recommended flapper dress. :)
Throughout the night, certain characters were "killed", per a to-do list on each of our individual character profiles. My list had no murders, but I was able to do a lot of gossip and shit-stirring. Thankfully, the part of the flapper girl gave me the perfect excuse to help myself to one too many cosmos-- the alcohol definitely made me a bit more outgoing. As part of the atmosphere of the night, I was tempted to "kill" someone in the ballroom and leave a candlestick next to them, though. Just to be a brat.
:)
So much fun. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a rip-roaring party with their friends!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
