9.23.07

The date is set. The site is reserved. The dress is chosen.

:)


Pardon while I sit at the wall stunned for a few days as this sinks in...

SBQ's

I have a couple Stitcher Blogging Questions to catch up... and then I'll start working on a general life entry... :)

8/24/06: What do you keep your WIPs and other stitching supplies in when traveling?

On a day to day basis, I keep all threads for my WIPS in those bobbin caddies at home or on the road. All papers are put in a poly envelope that has a drawstring enclosure. If it's small enough, the piece goes in the envelope as well. For traveling to and from work, I generally just put my hoop, bobbin box, and envelope in my backpack. Nothing fancy.

If I'm doing serious traveling (airplane, etcc.) then I usually put everything for the project inside a plastic bag just to keep it more together.


8/30/06: How do you share your finished pieces with others? Do you frame them, scan and/or photograph them, or do you have another method that you would like to share?

I keep digital photographs going on my blog, and there are albums on measi.net and flickr.com (links are on this page). For people I know in person, I generally bounce excitedly and smile as I hold the finish out to them.


9/21/06: How many pieces have you stitched? Out of these, how many have been for you? How many have had specialty stitches or other techniques besides cross stitch?

Only one piece has had specialty stitches so far... I did that back in high school. I've finished about a dozen pieces so far in my life, mostly because cross-stitching was a hobby that wasn't in the forefront. So far, all but one piece has been for myself. The piece that wasn't was a bookmark I stitched for my mom for Mother's Day in elementary school. She still has it, attached to her desk wall at home. :)

Friday's Feast #2

Appetizer
Measured in minutes or hours, how much exercise have you had in the last week?
About an hour-- adding up my brisks walks to work.

Soup
If you had to change your blog title to something else, what would it be?
At this point, I'm honestly not sure what the specific title would be... my blog has definitely been in a transition period lately, so I need to see how it evolves over the next few months to answer this. :)

Salad
Name one television show you watched when you were 9-12 years old.
The Cosby Show. religiously.

Main Course
If someone gave you $50 to spend with the one condition that it had to be educational, what would you purchase?
I'd use it to purchase entry tickets to the MFA-Boston and the Isabella Stewart Gardner museums (for both Erich and me).

Dessert
Do you tend to prefer dark colors, neutral shades, or lighter/pastel hues?I prefer dark colors, with some neutral shades for balance. Except in summer-- and then it's all about light shades. :)

Want to play? The meme can be found at fridaysfeast.blogspot.com.

Thursday Thirteen #4: Feline Photos

My brain is a bit fried this morning, so I'm doing a photographic Thursday Thirteen. :)

So which are your favorites?

Thirteen Photos of ze Cats #1: Fizzy (with the bug eyes) and Gus #2: The Lovebirds: Gus and Elly #3: The Siblings: Noby and Elly #4: Colley #5: Cat Attack! L-R: Noby, Gus, Elly, and Colley #6: Cat Circle: Gus, Noby, and Elly #7: Fizzy (against Erich's hand) #8: Colley, watching the birds #9: Kitten-Fu! Noby and Elly at 8 weeks #10: Fizzy #11: Gus, trying to lure Erich #12: The Big Brothers: Gus and Colley #13: Colley, trying to lure me Links to other Thursday Thirteens! Ginger - Sadie - Merlin - My 2 Cents - Brony - PaxilPrincess - Momish - Terrilynn

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Guilty kitty

I didn't do nothin'
Originally uploaded by measi.

Cats are retarded.

Lovable, cuddly, cute as hell... but completely retarded. And really, really weird.

Today's example: Noby

Around 3 a.m. this morning, I wake up to the sound of Erich muttering as he climbs back into bed about a stupid cat. I ask what's going on, and I get the most random answer:

"Noby stole the toilet paper."

My brain doesn't really process this comment - whether a lack of comprehension or dismissal as one of my many disjointed dreams, I can't say. I fall back asleep, waking up again as Erich shuts the bedroom door because our daily episode of the Noby and Elly Mutual Pouncing Show began at the ungodly hour of 4:30 this morning.

The alarm goes off, and I trundle to the bathroom in that barely awake stupor, where I find... no toilet paper. And then I get the vague memory of being TOLD about this. I go back to the bedroom and ask Erich.

"I don't know where he put it. There's more under the sink," he mumbles.

Later, I find out that as Erich was using the bathroom in the middle of the night, Noby followed him into the room. Not surprising-- we usually have one feline attendant in the bathroom with us, whether we want it or not. As Erich was using the toilet, Noby apparently reached down into the open tube of toilet paper (that neither of us had bothered to put on the roller yet) yoinked it, and ran.

So somewhere in our house is a roll of toilet paper-- probably stashed either under the bed or under the couch. Undoubtedly, it will be a shredded toy by the time we get home tonight.

Guess what our first chore of the night will be?

Happy Tuesday...

Stitching Progress

Apache Wedding Blessing
Originally uploaded by measi.

My computer is finally home from the repair shop! Now I'm able to upload all of my photos to Flickr to show that I am, in fact, making some good progress on my pieces. If you want to see the larger versions, just head over there via the photo to the right. :)

The piece I've been focusing on is Apache Wedding Blessing. It's stitching quite easily, although I was slowed down last month by having to stitch a large area of light yellow on white - it's rather hard on the eyes! But it's coming along very well, and I'm still shooting to have it done for the holidays so I can present it to Ivanna. Now that the weather is getting colder, I'll definitely be in a mood to snuggle on the couch and stitch.

During my morning and evening commutes, I've been working on Home is Where the Cat Is. It's a small piece that I've had for... ages. I bought it in either 1999 or 2000 and somehow never got around to stitching it. In the last couple months, I've made great progress. It's about 85% complete now:

Last weekend, I started preparing for the OTHER round robin I'll be participating in over the next year: a floral-themed round robin with six stitchers. Stitchers can select any designer. The tricky thing for me was figuring out my layout for each person's block. I first tried a very basic square-on-square format, but I didn't care for the result. Then I started sketching. I finally came up with a loosely "flower" shaped layout with five blocks for petals, and the center block for myself. You can see my rough sketch of the layout at my Flickr account.

I decided to stitch the Morning Glory block from Teresa Wentzler's Floral Bellpull as my center block. It conveniently is the 60x60 stitches I decided upon for each stitcher's area. In about six hours, I've made some great progress on the block:

And finally, Jenni's piece for the UFO round robin showed up yesterday! Her piece is called "The Mighty Samurai." Here's how it looks as received yesterday:

Lots of stitching to do! :)

Friday's Feast

Mary had the Friday's Feast meme on her journal this morning... and I feel like playing, too!

Appetizer
What was the very last song you listened to?
"Do Your Thing" by Basement Jaxx, via iPod on my walk from the train station this morning.

Soup
What is one company/store/corporation you would recommend that people stay away from?
The Knot - for wedding planning. Unless you're having an uber-traditional wedding, it's not helpful. And the majority of the women in the forums are the epitome of bridezilla. *shudder*

Salad
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy having your picture made?
6. I usually hate how I look in photos. But at the same time, I like the visual memory of events.

Main Course
Besides a bookmark, what is something you've used to keep your place in a book?
Receipts. I'm usually reading during my lunch hour at work, so I tend to take my food receipt as a placeholder. :)

Dessert
Name a food that you like that most people don't.
Sauerkraut. It's definitely a love-hate food. But in my circle of friends, it seems to be on the feared side. It's comfort food to me.

Thursday Thirteen #3: Why I Love New England

A lot this week deal with autumn... because it is what made me fall in love with New England. But I couldn't drag 13 out of only autumn, so I had to change my title midway through. *grin* And Erich's not on this list-- because, while that is of course the #1 love of my life, I fell in love with New England before meeting him. These are the things ASIDE from him. :)

Thirteen Reasons I love New England 1. The COLOR. Growing up in Montana, I never could figure out why there were red leaves in autumn decorations. Autumn was short, turned very cold, usually had snow, and was nothing more than a bunch of yellow and brown leaves (and cottonwood gunk) on the roads. My first autumn in New England excited me so much that I actually mailed leaves to my parents because I couldn't believe the fiery red existed. Of course, both of my parents thought I was weird (since, being from PA, they both were used to red leaves). Well, they still think I'm weird, but hey (shrug). 2. The smell. New England has a distinct autumn smell to it- a special mixture of morning dew and fog mixed with cold, damp earth mixed with the blend of drying leaves. Even in the heart of Boston in areas where it's nearly all concrete jungle, you can smell it. It's soothing and cozy to me. 3. Halloween. This ties in with the color and smell aspects-- but there' s nothing quite like Halloween in New England. In many areas, the houses are older and just have that appearance of spookiness. Add to that the fact that it's pitch dark by 5 by Halloween. And, it's very forested here. Lots and lots of woods. By that time of year, fog is a fairly common occurrance. It gets very spooky here. There are TONS of haunted houses, haunted hayrides, and other specific Halloween attractions. Most are open throughout October. And of course, there is Disney-Halloween, also known as Salem, Mass. on Oct. 31. Been there, done that. Not worth the insanity. 4. Countryside drives. Oddly this is the only time of year Erich and I do this. We have an annual tradition, mid-Octoberish, where we drive up to Concord, Massachusetts. We go to The Cheese Shop (yes... it's actually called that) in downtown Concord and drop a lot of money on good, imported cheeses, mustards, european chocolates, and perhaps a bottle of chianti. Then we head over to Sleepy Hollow cemetery, which is only perhaps a mile from downtown. We walk around for a while, visiting the graves of Hawthorne, Alcott, etc. And then we start driving back toward Boston down Route 2A... where you find all of the local farmstands. Pie, more pie, and some veggies. And probably a carmel or candy apple. The scenery is beautiful, and it's one of those romantic little relationship traditions that sprung completely by accident, but I look forward to every year. 5. King Richard's Faire. Ren Faire: tigers, ligers and other big cats, jousting, sword play, period garb (Erich prefers me in the corset, heh.), turkey stew, and mead. :) Oh and the two guys that attend every year looking like some cross between Klingons, Mad Max villains and Uruk-hai. 6. Morning chill. It came early this year-- that really honest to god cold air that makes you burrow deeper under the covers, or makes your teeth chatter when you first go outside. I find it quite energizing in the morning. As soon as the chill hits, I know that the heat and humidity of summer is gone. And that makes me extremely happy. 7. Maine. Erich's mom lives there, specifically in the region north of Portland, but south of Bar Harbor. Maine has somehow clung to what I imagine Cape Cod was like fifty years ago-- small seaside towns, many with active sea-related industries (fishing, lobstering, etc.). The town where Erich's mom lives has the appearance of something out of Norman Rockwell. There's the general store (with the 1930s era glass-door display fridges), a post office that closes for two hours for lunch (but everyone knows the postmaster), windy back roads. One school. And lots of stories about the life-long residents and their extended family histories. Stephen King does capture his beloved home well when he creates settings. He generally focuses on the more depressing aspects. And they're definitely there (although not quite always to the extreme of 'Salems Lot, for example). But there is something about those small, seaside towns that are both romantic and terrifying, and my writer's mind goes both directions whenever we go up there. 8. Boston. Generic, perhaps. But I came to New England to go to school in Boston. I love the mix of new and old in the city. I love the blend of cultures. I love the variety of color. The traffic is crazy. The subways have deteriorated in quality considerably since I moved here. But it's a fantastic city to visit, and despite the high cost of living, it's a great place to go to school and live. 9. Sports. Yes, Red Sox fans can be obnoxious. They raise it to an artform, in fact. From my experience, so are the Yankees fans (although I get amused that everyone I know from NY will deny this... I call bullshit to that from a neutral upbringing. Both groups of fans are equally as obnoxious to each other). But the sports passion for the Red Sox - and for the Patriots, although on a different level - is a backbone of the culture here. As a non-native, I can't even grasp how deep this runs, but I see the evidence of it all the time. The eulogy for Erich's grandfather last weekend sums up part of it. His daughter wrote how in the last six years since she moved in to live with him (after Erich's grandmother passed away), she recalled him crying only twice. I don't recall what the first reason was, but the second was when the Red Sox won the World Series. 10. Religion. Contrary to how many of the conservative, predominantly verbally religious states may think of New England... it's not a bastion of godlessness here. New England is as fiercely religious as any other area of the nation. But, like New York and many of the other East Coast cities, there is a tremendous diversity of religion here, with all of the subsets of major religions included. And somehow, despite the occasional mudslinging of bigotry, people have learned to live side by side and go about their lives for the most part. People here are devout, but devotion is considered personal and private. In the towns and circles I've been in, the "my church is greater than your church" crap that I saw growing up doesn't exist. (and I think it's for the better, quite frankly.) 11. The accents. Notice the plural on that... not everyone speaks like Norm on This Old House. There are a number of different accents in New England, and all of them both fascinate and amuse me. I have found that my own accent has changed since living here. I am starting to lose a few "r"s here and there. 12. The size. New England is accessible. Lots of roads and lots of ways to get places - and lots of things to do. Erich and I can go to Maine (which for us is now technically three states away) for a long weekend. Our normal weekend Dungeons & Dragons group has players now from four different states. Growing up, going somewhere in state for a long weekend was usually a pain in the ass, let alone going to the next state over (Wyoming). 13. Forward-thinking intelligence. Being smart and educated is valued here. Being liberal - in the proper sense of trying to seek out ways to improve human life - is celebrated here. Not everything works, and sometimes these states are ahead of their time... but it is an experimenting ground for growth as a nation and culture. Whether it's same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, or the very recent system created in Vermont to allow handicapped voters to vote via telephone (thereby providing an accessible - but physically private - way to vote for the disabled) - experiments and attempts at improvements are always at work here. :) Links to other Thursday Thirteens! Raggedy - Stacie - Sally - Momish - Brony

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Erich's 102 in 1002

Erich's had a list of items to do that he's carried around on the weekends. It was typed in excel, and he has crossed off a few things from the list over the last couple weeks. After seeing my list that I posted last night, he revised his and sent me an email today titled "102 in 1002." Being a Leo, he does, of course, try to outshine. :) #1 is, however, a symbolic reminder that was on his original list.

With his permission, here is his 102 in 1002...

The Mission: Complete 102(!) preset tasks in a period of 1002 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Start Date: Sept. 12, 2006
End Date: June 10, 2009
Last Status Update: N/A
Days Remaining: 1001
As of Summer 2009 we will probably need to replace our roof

Key:
(normal text)- not yet addressed
italic - in progress
bold- completed (with date)

1. Visit Norm (This will always remain at (1) to remind myself of what happens when I procrastinate - Erich)

Home Maintenence
2. Trim side bushes
3. Trim front bushes
4. Mow and edge lawn regularly
5. Laundry regularly
6. Dishes regularly
7. Spray poison ivy patches in spring & additional as needed
8. Trim cat claws weekly
9. Vacuum weekly
10. Clean up cat spots regularly (ewwww....)
11. Clean out bedroom
12. Oil changes for both cars
13. Clean Noby's ears
14. Get a routine down for brushing Colley's teeth
15. Hang up all clothes
16. Create & stick to a walking routine

Home Repair & Improvement
17. Call Cox - switch to HD cable (one box only)
18. Get DVR Box
19. Porch barrel - empty yard waste
20. Clean leaves out from around foundation
21. Find leaks in garage roof
22. Fix leaks in garage roof
23. Buy gigabit switch
24. 1st floor network: switch in basement
25. Rewire high speed connection to enter in basement
26. Replace any damaged windows
27. Measure headboard vs. bedroom dimensions to see if headboard is useable
28. Reorganize bedroom (assuming headboard is useable)
29. Buy a drill and bits
30. Finish shaving office door
31. Buy new litter boxes for cats
32. Repair windows to point that they can be opened
33. Have basement foundation leak repaired
34. Plant hydrangea & little yellow plant
35. Repair tile on bathroom floor
36. Find termite inspection history
37. Schedule new termite inspection
38. Buy & install new showerhead
39. Scrub out microwave
40. Reseed lawn
41. Maintain lawn watering schedule to foster seed growth
42. Buy snowblower
43. Buy new hatch
44. Recover old bricks from under sunroom
45. Create front flower bed
46. Weed side flower bed
47. Plant something under trees in side yard
48. Cut down junk trees & bushes
49. Rent woodchipper
50. Grind yard waste to mulch
51. Contact tree people to trim limbs near lines & rid of disease/dead high stuff
52. Defeat the Triffid
53. Cut out the Triffid stump
54. Bedroom: Take down wallpaper and repaint
55. Bathroom: Take down wallpaper and repaint
56. Kitchen: Take down wallpaper and repaint
57. Sunroom: Restring windows to make them functional.

Self-Improvement
58. Pay off credit cards
59. Find a new job
60. Watch a meteor shower
61. Try a new ethnic cuisine
62. Get to doctor
63. Get to dentist
64. Get eyes checked & new prescription/glasses
65. Research (& schedule) laser surgery for eyes
66. Get weight & waist size to where I want them to be
67. Buy a "new" car

Family Responsibilities
68. Take Ren Faire and other clothes to dry cleaners
69. Attend King Richards Faire 2006
70. Visit Mom
71. Thank you notes for Christmas gifts sent within one week
72. Attend Arisia
73. Visit Vermont
74. Attend King Richards Faire 2007
75. Go to the Big E fair in Mass
76. Visit Roger Williams Park Zoo
77. Spend an afternoon at the Gardner Museum in Boston
78. Attend Waterfire
79. Create an address book with birthdays and important other dates
80. Go on a romantic weekend getaway (Mel note... hopefully with me, *wink*)
81. Create Living Will
82. Take all cats to the vet for annual checkup 2007
83. Get records from the old vet transferred for Fizzy and Gus
84. Get Fizzy and Gus to the vet for annual checkup 2006
85. Pick a wedding date
86. Compile guest list with addresses
87. Send out save the date cards
88. Send out invitations
89. Get married
90. Thank-you notes sent out for wedding within five weeks

The Great Clean Out
91. Sort through and donate clothes
92. Purchase garage storage system- once garage is waterproofed
93. Reorganize garage
94. Purchase basement storage system- once basement is waterproofed
95. Reorganize basement
96. Clean out front porch
97. Clean out front hall (done for 2006- redo after winter use)
98. Help clean out Mel's office
99. Reorganize Mel's office
100. Clean out Mel's hall closet- remove old boxes
101. Prep for yard sale- organize and box up useless shit
102. Have yard sale

- Mel's 101 in 1001 is here.

101 things in 1001 days

A lot of bloggers have comprised these lists. It took me a couple months to comprise a list, but here we go...

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days? Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as new year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities

Start Date: Sept. 12, 2006
End Date: June 9, 2009
Last Status Update: December 5, 2006
Days Remaining: 917

Key:
(normal text)- not yet addressed
italic - in progress
bold- completed (with date)

I'll organize these by category later. Most are in order, but I'm just striving to get the list for now.

1. Doctor- get my physical done
2. Doctor- go to OB/GYN
3. Eyes- new prescription & contacts
4. Lose 2 dress sizes
5. Create Living Will
6. Pay off credit cards
7. Put $2,000 into my IRA
8. Find a new job - 11/27/2006
9. Create a personal cookbook
10. Learn to cook 3 fabulous meals
11. Cook every night for two weeks straight
12. Sit ritual for Samhain
13. Reimburse Erich on loan
14. Reimburse dad on loan
15. Get a pedicure
16. Find a new hairstyle that I love
17. Get each cat to the vet for an annual checkup. 11/24/2006
18. Pick a date 9/30/06
19. Reserve ceremony & reception site 9/30/06
20. Reserve caterer Dec. 06
21. Compile guest list with addresses Mar 07
22. Send out save the date cards Mar 07
23. Buy dress & accessories 9/29/06
24. Arrange photographer 6/15/07
25. Arrange florist
26. Send out invitations
27. Get married
28. Take down wallpaper and repaint bedroom
29. Take down wallpaper and repaint bathroom
30. Take down wallpaper and repaint kitchen
31. Restring windows in sunroom to make them functional
32. Buy a snowblower
33. Finish sorting through boxes
34. Organize basement
35. Create a functional space in my office
36. Go through all clothes and make serious (and realistic) decisions
37. Have a yard sale
38. Create flower bed in the empty space in front of the house
39. Reclaim side flower bed from the weeds
40. Plant something under trees along slope in side yard
41. Send photos of the house to grandma
42. Create a good address book (with birthdays and other important dates)
43. Attend all three sorority degrees during the year
44. Hold an autumn 2006 Stitch 'n Bitch 11/10/06
45. Hold a spring 2007 Stitch 'n Bitch (multiple 07
46. Reconnect with Andi
47. Reconnect with DT
48. Clear out penpalling stuff
49. Send out all thank-you notes for wedding within five weeks
50. Send out thank-you notes for Christmas within one week
51. Shed old email groups
52. Clean out clutter email
53. Complete already set stitching goals for 2006 Dec. 06
54. Create new stitching goals for 2007 Jan. 07
55. Complete stitching goals for 2007
56. Complete Egyptian Sampler
57. Complete Apache Wedding Blessing
58. Complete my wedding sampler
59. Start an active stitching group/guild with semi-regular meetings - Stitch Bitch & Who - 5/07
60. Knit a shawl
61. Learn how to do cable knits
62. Write a fanfic story
63. Buy a floor stand for stitching
64. Buy a natural light lamp
65. Get The Castle professionally framed
66. Buff up my Russian
67. Read a Jules Verne novel in French
68. Read any book by Jane Austen
69. Attend the human body exhibit at the science museum missed it. :(
70. Audit a college class
71. Create a "must read" list
72. Read at least five books from said list
73. Buff up my French
74. Visit Vermont
75. Attend Arisia
76. Attend King Richard's Faire 2006 10/2006
77. Attend King Richard's Faire 2007
78. Go to the Big E fair in Mass
79. Attend one of the CATS (not feline-related) exhibitions
80. Visit the Roger Williams Park zoo
81. Spend an afternon at the Gardner Museum in Boston
82. Attend Waterfire
83. Visit Erich's Mom :( R.I.P. 3/12/07.
84. Go on a romantic weekend getaway with Erich (that's NOT part of the honeymoon)
85. Donate platelets in fall 2006
86. Donate platelets in spring 2007
87. Donate platelets in fall 2007
88. Watch a meteor shower
89. Attempt a looser-schedule novel project
90. Level another character in world of warcraft to 60
91. Purchase new battery for my laptop 6/10/07
92. Try a new ethnic cuisine Mar 07 - Brazilian
93. Re-memorize how to do sun and moon salutes for morning stretches
94. Find my clarinet at Mom's
95. Start retraining my breath and fingers so I can play again
96. Research (and attend) a meeting for a casual/alumni band
97. Attend a Drum Corps show
98. Knit an afghan
99. Balance my checkbook every month
100. Update this list every month
101. Create a new list to start in 1001 days.

Helpful stuff: Duration calculator.

A crisp Monday morning

fEvery year, one morning in September wakes me up to the reality that it is, in fact, autumn. It's the "I Really Should Have Worn My Jacket" morning of the year. I was shivering as I stood on the train platform. I continued to shiver once we were on the train because NOW... after the heat of the year, the A/C is finally blasting in the trains. Tonight my light jacket will get pulled out of the closet, washed if necessary, and be used for the next couple months.

To my surprise, I'm not shivering at work-- the temperature gauge seems to be about right... finally. :)

But it was a beautiful autumn morning in Boston. The sky was a beautiful, sharp blue without a single cloud. The air is just starting to smell of dew on the grass mixed with earth and leaves.

I've said it before - I love this time of year. It's cozy and comfy and the world is full of color. I get to fall in love with New England all over again.

--------

The funeral, obviously, was the unexpected focus of this weekend. Erich and I went, along with Erich's dad.

The services and burial for Normie were held on Saturday morning. It was a simple, beautiful service at the funeral home, surrounded by loved ones and friends. Normie was 90, and was lucky to have three of his close friends (aka "partners in crime") there at the funeral. If only we all could be so lucky-- both to live to 90, and also to have close friends in our lives.

The saddest part of the day, in my opinion, was the fact that Erich's mom couldn't be there for her own father's funeral. She's been in the hospital for the past several weeks- with at least three more months to go - and is simply too immobile right now to travel. Katie, Erich's cousin, pointed out that she would had to arrange an ambulance to drive all the way from mid-coast Maine to southern Massachusetts and back. It just wasn't feasable. :( But Erich and I have a recording of the funeral service and the warm eulogy given about Normie to give to her. We're also going to make a point to get up to Maine as soon as possible to be with her.

The rest of the weekend was nice and quiet. Since we were in the area, Erich and I swung by The Big Apple in Wrentham, Mass., on our way home and to pick up some yummy stuff. We bought a bag of apples (McIntosh, which are in season right now), fresh peaches, two apple pies, and a pumpkin pie. The Big Apple, as its name might suggest, is an apple orchard farm. They grow at least a couple dozen types of apple trees, and by about late September, TONS of different apples are for sale in the sales barn, for sale in five pound bags up to "whatever you need" if you call ahead. The thing that Erich and I beeline for is the pie rack. Weekends can be an absolute zoo at The Big Apple in the fall. But it's fun insanity, and it's one of those things that we get to perhaps only once or twice a season. On Saturday, the air outside the sales barn was full of the smell of fresh doughnuts (yum!) and of course... the pies. All three that we bought were still hot in the box. It was a relatively quiet day at The Big Apple. It's definitely still early in the season.

We got home.. Erich headed off to Frank's to spend the rest of the day with the guys playing Dungeons & Dragons (which originally had been scheduled to be at our house that day). I know he needed the time with the guys and was honestly glad he decided to still go play.

With the rest of the day to myself, I scooted myself up to Cumberland, RI, to go to the closest cross stitch shop. My second stitching round robin is a Floral theme, and in creating my layout for each stitcher's block, I discovered that I didn't have a piece of fabric within my stash wide enough to allocate both stitching space and the additional inches needed for framing. Off to With Heart and Soul I went to purchase a piece of cream 32 ct. linen that's 20.5 inches square.

I arrived back home a bit after four p.m. I called my father, but as always, he's not home. So I left him a message to wish him a happy 63rd birthday. (sigh... more on Dad and I in another entry... it's another rant piece). Then I started my stitching work for the weekend.

The first order of business was finishing my prep to send out the UFO RR on Monday. I decided, after lots of thought, to send out Teresa Wentzler's Floral Bellpull. I made sure all of my materials were in place and then packaged it up.

Next I got to work on the Floral RR. I tried to start by marking out each block with gridding thread, but it just was not working right. After an hour of miscounts, I gave up and decided to just work on stitching my square, and then I'd mark the other squares based upon my measurements. I've decided upon 60x60 stitch blocks for each person. Conveniently, each square of the Floral Bellpull (from the other RR) is exactly 60x60 stitches without the border. I selected the Morning Glory block, and got to work.

I'm quite proud of the amount of stitching I got done this weekend. I have nearly 1/4 of the stitches already in the fabric. Hopefully between this week and the weekend, I can get the majority of it done. The tenative start date for this RR is on Sept. 25th. I may just make it.

When life disturbingly resembles Hugh Grant movie titles

Despite my Thursday Thirteen entry yesterday that was full of happiness and cheerleading about myself, the last 48 hours or so have been quite sad in the Geekywitch household. I'll be replying to Thursday Thirteen comments (thank you!) over the weekend...

Erich's maternal grandfather died late Wednesday night. He apparently had been fine, watching golf on Monday. On Tuesday he developed a cough. When family arrived to visit him Wednesday morning, he had developed pneumonia and was unresponsive. Norm was quite elderly- in his 90s, I believe. From what I understand, he never regained consciousness.

This was Erich's last surviving grandparent, and the second death this year. So far Erich's doing okay. He's somber of course, but he's getting through the day fairly well. We escaped reality for a few hours last night at Battleground with a D&D game, and I think that helped his mood quite a bit even if it decreased the amount of sleep on which he's running today. I don't think reality has really hit him yet. He took yesterday off to talk with his parents and wait for funeral service details, which are scheduled for this weekend.

I've only met Norm once - last year at his birthday party. I sadly don't have enough memories of him to make a fitting tribute to him. :(

Thursday Thirteen #2: Things I like about myself

Thirteen Things I like about myself

1. I’m extremely patient, both with people and with myself. I’m well aware that good things take time… sometimes lots and lots of time.

2. Since early childhood, I’ve always been passionate about learning. I don’t care what subject—I love to learn and love to explore through thought and discovery.

3. I can keep calm during the worst of times – or at least keep an image up that I’m under control. My mind may be racing, but I instinctively try to create calm around me. Unless it’s just around Erich, and then I don’t worry about it.

4. I love that I have a wide range of hobbies to enrich my life.

5. I love being a cat mom.

6. I generally can find a way to enjoy myself, even if on first glance a situation looks like it will be a complete bore.

7. My friends confide in me, and value my comments and suggestions. I’m straight forward with them because as I believe being a friend requires me to be honest with them, but always try to find a way to be both gentle and supportive (even if I think they’re being stupid).

8. For absolutely no reason at all, I’ve always quietly loved that I have grey eyes, blonde hair, and freckles. I don’t feel like me if my hair’s a different color—and I feel more like me in the summer when my freckles come back out from the sun.

9. I’m very proud to not be a girly-girl. It took me a while to get to this, but I’m still a tomboy, and know I’ll remain that way my entire life.

10. I’m generally able to express myself so clearly with writing, which is a damn good thing since I tend to get tied up if I try to verbalize my deeper thoughts.

11. I’m thankful for being adopted because it has opened my eyes to the reality that family is a connection of love as much as (and honestly in my opinion, more than) it is biology. You can, in fact, pick many members of your family, despite how the saying goes.

12. I like that I wasn’t too scared to go on a first – and blind- date five and change years ago to meet Erich.

13. I can – and do - laugh every day.





Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Cass - Shash - Caylynn Southern Girl - JM Snyder - Pass the Torch - Buttercup - Tonya - Cindy


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Monthly Stitching Goals...

Eh... not a great month, but it is summer and attention is elsewhere...

1) Finish half of the bottom border of Apache Wedding Blessing I'm close... just under one half. All of the yellow is done.

2) Finish Home is Where the Cat Is I did work on it, but it still has a few hours to go.

3) Prepare my UFO to mail for the UFO RR that starts in September Yes-- it's ready!

4) Get at least a couple hours of work done on Egyptian Sampler Can't get to it... I'm going to have to shelve this until Apache is done.

5) Finally update my stitching pages completely, with photos and update progress. Nope. Computer's been in and out of the shop all month for repairs, so I haven't been able to sit down and get it done.


For September...

1) Finish bottom border of Apache
2) Work on UFO RR
3) Finish Home is Where the Cat Is
4) Update Stitching Pages
5) Have a stitching cram session (6+ hour day) on Apache.
6) Attend the Boston Knit Out in late September