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Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Break for Dues!



I'm still not in a good mood... but at least I don't find anyone else on my pc today.. It will probably have to go back to the shop, but it's usable at this point.


It's that time of year again, and DH has been busy as a bee working for several days to get the dues notices for his Vietnam Veteran LRRP organization written, printed, address labeled and return address labeled. It's taking over a thousand stamps.. they are all on... Now I have to break from working on my quilt to help with the folding and stuffing... I decided to do a simple rail fence as the first quilt. There won't be a lot of work done on it today, as there are several errands to run and then the stuffing of the notices and mailing... so maybe tomorrow will show a little more progress.

Monday, January 29, 2007

Idiots


I spent the day yesterday trying to clean and clear my computer as I found that once again some idiot had inserted himself/herself onto my computer as a user. I found that many of the things I wanted to do would show a pop up window telling me that I just didn't have room left on my pc to that... imagine that. That's when I started looking and found a user in my user list that I had never heard of. Since this has happened once before, I am not a happy camper. That time, I had to have the entire pc overhauled and it cost a bit... We installed a firewall, but it seems that this person is absolutely insistant on using my pc! I also find that I have files that are password protected that I cannot get to even when my anti-virus scans. Ask me if I'm in a bad mood....

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Work Room Makeover


During the last year, all of my projects have been small so I could work on them inside the house and sitting down. I am finally recovered enough from the happenings of last year that I am beginning to feel really good again and am ready to go back to some larger projects. I have enrolled in Sharon Boggon's online stitchery class Develop a Personal Library of Stitches that is being offered through joggles.com.

I am also starting my first quilt. It will be a Signature Quilt with the signature embroidered on 4" squares. The squares are in the mail for signatures and the ones that I have already received are embroidered. But...
Most of the projects over the last year have had things cut, stitched, embroidered, knitted, beaded... yada yada... and all those leftover things have just been piled and stashed in my room. Sooo...
The next several days will be spent re-doing my workroom, organizing and rearranging things in preparation for the class and the quilt. So if you don't see me here...that is where I will be...

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Technology... hmmm...


It always amazes me when I think about the Apollo series of trips to the moon. Especially that the astronauts took slide rules with them...grin When Chuck showed me his new acquisition while he was home, once again I had to wonder why we always seem to think that prior to computers everyone had to work everything out in their head or on a piece of paper... This is a 1920's desktop calculator... he has a small one that can be carried around in a pocket...

Monday, January 22, 2007

I Think I'll Keep Him!

The kids are gone...I'm in my gown and robe...called Tomomi and talked about the quilt I'm making.. called Paula and wished her a 2 day late "Happy Birthday"... finally dressed, but note did not really comb my hair or "get around"...grin DH has run to the Dollar Store to find a new frying pan the right size to make into a squirrel feeder.. He comes home (after an unusually long time ... and with no frying pan in hand) and begins working on something on his computer. The door bell rings and (unusually) he says .. "Why don't you get that?" I should have known...grin

I think I'll keep him...

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Round Robin Letter .. Update


The Round Robin Letter was hand delivered to me when Phil got here the other day. I promise I have not read it since it is not my turn....grin It still sits among all the Sculpey, fabric, pens and etc on my kitchen table, but I am still considering getting it out today. I have started a "Signature" quilt and am debating on sending tissue squares to see if anyone wants to add their signature to the quilt as the letter makes it's rounds this time. Chuck has said that he definitely wants to be sent copies of the letter each time, but has not said whether he wants to add his name and participate.... so I may wait until he gets back and find out for sure before I mail it on to John.

Friday, January 19, 2007

Ingram Surname Origins



I've done several searches for the origins of the Ingram surname... it has always come down to English or German. My grandfather was quite proud of his Irish heritage, so this was a real mystery for me. When my DH was leafing through some of his family genealogy pages the other day, he came across one that he printed off a couple of years ago on the Ingram name. According to this post on the Ingram Genforum site, it seems that it derives from the Norse who lived in Britain. And it means "Ing's raven"... Who would have thought!

Thursday, January 18, 2007

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title

I was doing my usual blog reading this morning and ran across this over at Deb's Red Shoe Ramblings.. she had her Peculiar Aristocratic Title posted so I just had to do mine.. I can see my kids reading this, looking up the meaning to pertinacious and rolling on the floor laughing ... all the while shaking their heads and saying .. "YESSSS!"


My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Venerable Lady Linda the Pertinacious of Kesslington under Ox
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

To save them the trouble of actually having to look it up... here it is:

Main Entry: per·ti·na·cious

1. (a) : adhering resolutely to an opinion, purpose, or design

(b) : perversely persistent

2 : stubbornly unyielding or tenacious

Barbie Clothes



I never was one of those little girls who loved Barbie, preferring instead to have baby dolls. I found this Barbie in a thrift store a few years ago and she has been languishing in my stash drawer since then. But having been on a knitting roll, I thought how much easier it would be to make small things than big things and I pulled her out. Using this pattern and size 5 needles, I whipped this little shawl up in no time.

Well, now I'm on a roll. (grin) So I got out the crochet hook and put together this sweater and handbag. I'm now working on a pair of summer pants to match the lining in the handbag. There really is a method to the madness. A grandson married recently to a wonderful young lady who brought a 6 y/o daughter into the family. And she loves Barbie.
Part of yesterday was spent making Sculpey beads. Some will be used for embellishments... but some will make Barbie jewelry...grin

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Cold Weather and Family

I wasn't expecting this ice to last so long. This cold snap usually comes in February and it seldom lasts more than one or two days. More sleet fell this morning and our excursions to the back porch (we have started smoking again...ughhh!) have been quite short. I braved the cold on Monday and took some photos of the ice hanging off everything. The news reports still show McAlester and Howe without power. But... the good news is that it is supposed to reach 47 degrees tomorrow, so everything should melt.

Phil, Loretta and Chuck arrived Saturday evening. What a delight. Phil's rental car was so covered with ice that I first thought he would not be able to get out. Chuck says he does not have to return to Iraq, so his coming was doubly wonderful. With the weather so bad, we had a couple of days of just staying in and visiting before Phil and Loretta had to leave. Their plane left Dallas on time, but the one from Chicago to Lansing was cancelled... it seems that the storm just followed them home. They stayed in a hotel for the night and caught an early flight ... after battling to get into their ice covered car for the trip to the airport. When they got home, it took over an hour to get into their own car... covered with ice... then had to stop at the doctor's office on the way because Phil has contracted bronchitis. Finally made it home to find that all power is off and has to start the generator to have power for lights and heat... What a trip...Makes me want to hop a flight and go make him some hot tea with lemon and honey.

Chuck got to stay until yesterday and will be back on his way to catch his plane to California. He has a camera setup that makes me drool every time I see it because it takes such beautiful macro shots. This is one that I took with my camera and I really like it, but with his he can get a lot closer. He is so talented... can't help but be a proud mom.

Friday, January 12, 2007

Painting Eggs


I spent some time in my workroom yesterday painting eggs. This is what came from that. This egg was started a couple of weeks ago. It has been layered with a base coat, metallic coat and another matte coat. The trees were then painted in their basic shapes and colors. Yesterday I put the main shapes in with a Sharpie using a purple color that would match the background. This was a little to bright for me, so I thinned some white down to ink consistency and did an overpainting with it. There is an artist (can't remember his name..duhh) that does lovely paintings of a simple row of trees..quite stylized. This was the basic effect I was going for with this egg. It didn't really get there, but is closer than I expected.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Yellow Teapot


There's nothing like a nice, hot, soothing cup of tea. So when lunch came around yesterday this was it. The teapot was a Christmas gift from son Phil..enjoying the fairy vase of ivy..from daughter Paula...creamer from son John... got out this pic of son Chuck...turned on this fountain from son Jim... wrapped myself up in this and had lunch... with all my children... You just have to do that sometimes...

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Mom


I've read and heard that the relationship between a mother and daughter is a very complicated thing in the best of times. I suppose that is true. Regardless of the ups and downs, I think both mother and daughter (at least on a basic level of some kind) love each other and that can never be escaped.
Mom died this morning around 7am.
Memories of youth:
I loved her house. It was always clean and cool. There was always laughter and music. Movies. Home baked brownies and cakes on the cabinets. Eating outdoors by moving the tables out and cooking on the grill. Walking to the swimming pool every Saturday in the summers. Football games and marching band. Learning to sew. Learning the joy of planting and caring for flowers, gardens and the backyard birds. Painting the house inside and out...decorating and using what you have to make your personal space a haven from the outside world. I could go on and on... babies pulling out the pots and pans and playing in the middle of the kitchen floor... buttons on the table with babies building whole cities... on and on and on with the good things she brought to many lives...
She will be missed.

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

TAST & Bread Cloth



I haven't felt that I could commit to Sharon B's Take a Stitch Tuesday challenge. I seem to have so many things going on that I don't feel I could do it adequate justice. But... that does not mean that I can't try to do a little as I can find time. So, I picked up some Aida cloth from my stash and started it just in time for a bit of a personal crisis to develop. This is as far as I have gotten with it. Perhaps things will let up and I will be able to do more...


The knitting I had on the needles is done. I need to weave in the ends and will add some taupe ribbon as closures. I am fairly happy with it, but your first projects are seldom perfect.. and this one surely is not perfect... but I like it anyway. Thanks, ~firefly, for the knitting inspiration!

Monday, January 08, 2007

Fingerless Mittens & On The Needles Now

The Wool Ease fingerless mittens have been completed for a couple of days now. I've had them laying on the kitchen table in the midst of a hundred buttons to see if I really wanted to put a button on each wrist... haven't found any that I like so maybe that should tell me something.



On the needles now.... something that will perhaps be a bread cloth... or maybe a face cloth ... or perhaps just a knitted square... I'm not sure. After seeing the biscuit blanket that firefly did over at I live on a farm I decided to try the basket weave stitch with my knitting and knitted a scarf in some really terrible blue acrylic yarn that feels like an old wool army blanket when you put it around your neck... ughhh So I bought some "Peaches and Cream" cotton yarn and started this:

The needles are size 5, so this is pretty slow going. The basket weave rows are interrupted with 3 rows of garter stitch between them. The first several rows were stiff and I thought "Oh, no!" But I kept going and it is much better and becomes just the right weight for a bread cover. I will continue on with it and see what happens.

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Comfort Food


This has not been a really good week. Things happen that you are never prepared for even though you thought you were. The death of someone you love is never easy even when the gap between you and that person has become too large to bridge. That is a sad thing. ..... So today is the day for looking at all the good things in life that have over the years made each day a wonder in itself. The blessings in life can be as grand as the birth of each child... and mine were and are grand. The memories of laughter with the family during summer picnics. The first day of the first child boarding the school bus and wondering .. "Will he be ok? ... and I will so miss him today." And then reliving that same thought as each child in turn takes that first step away from you. The joy of looking at each today in turn and knowing that you love them just as much today... and worry just as much, but in a slightly less anxious way. The rebirth of nature in the spring, the joy of watching the chickadees flitter through the empty trees in winter, the snuggly house slippers that have grown a little lumpy and misshapen with washing, sharing a cup of hot coffee on the back porch with the man who has become the best friend I have ever had and who would protect me from even the slightest upset. Tomato soup with cheese and crackers. Pears. Rain. Colors... all of them. Flowers...even the ones that stink. Adhesive tape and Band Aids. Noses... without which the smell of that luscious banana bread would be like sound of a tree falling in the forest with no one to hear.

The list can go on for a while... there are so many things to be thankful for. So take out your sweetest cup and saucer, a small bread plate, those pieces of nice silverware that you save for holidays.... slice a piece of banana bread off to have with a cup of hot wonderful tea.... and share it with the people you love ... often. Remembering the good things... the true blessings of our lives... makes the difficult times a little less imposing.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Wonderful Rain


After the drought of the summer, the rain we have been having has been a real treat. Yesterday we had coffee at Hastings...DH got our coffee cups confused and he drank my "fully leaded" cup instead of his "unleaded" and as a result was up half the night. His main complaint this morning...
"You know how wonderful it is to listen to the rain and fall asleep to it? Well... the listening to the rain was great...but then couldn't sleep. Ruined the whole thing!"

I finished my first project for 2007... the Crocheted Medallion Scarf. Pics and pattern are posted on the Fabric Follies Two blog...

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Sharon B's "Take a Stitch Tuesdays"


Embellishers all around the blogging sphere have been waiting for today. This is the day Sharon B. begins the "Take a Stitch Tuesday" challenge. The needles have been poised in the "Go!" position over the fabric since the decision was made to go ahead with this challenge back in December. The first stitch to be explored is the herringbone... Have a look...
I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year. We took a short jaunt up to Oklahoma to see my brother and his new wife. Wonderful visit and a terrific way to begin the year.