Enjoying the Garden

As promised, Hanging Gardens of Semarimis photos.

Full view:

And the closer up:
OK, so I didn't say they'd be great photos. I probably did closer to 11 hours this rotation. Since I've kinda found a groove with this project and none of my other WIPs are shouting at me today, I think I am just going to continue on a while. I'll probably take HG to Louisville this weekend. Maybe I'll change projects next week. Then again, maybe not. You know me.

AAAAAA!!! Help me I'm melting!

Been checking out the Nashville releases - or what's been previewed thus far. Ready for a shock? I like THIS. I KNOW! It's so not me. But, I'm in love. Actually, it's the witch I love most of all. I so want to be her. Definite broom-envy.

I'm telling myself that if I am a very good girl and NSTR gets finished this year that AaHRH can be my monthly project for 2011. Yeah. Any bets on how long I'll hold out?

Tonight I should finish up my 10 hour rotation on Hanging Gardens. So, if the light is decent tomorrow, you will get a photo. I'm debating what to stitch for the remainder of the month. Whatever I choose will have to travel out of town both weekends. That rules out NSTR as it is just too much fabric with which to deal/manipulate outside of my normal stitching space. I might just stick with HG. But then, Medieval Town Mandala has been asking for love, too....

Ramblings of My Mind - Stitching and Not

There has been no stitching since Sunday.

Yeah, I'm not so pleasant to be around. Life has conspired against my stitching. Here's a photo of where I ended up on NSTR after my 10 hours in February (total hours approx 20, however, 3 were spent frogging and re-stitching).

So, yes, we have a wise man. I'm sure somewhere in the background is a wise woman we just can't see.

Assuming I get to stitch tonight, I will start my 10 hour rotation on Hanging Gardens. I confess to be anxious to get back to HG. As nice a break as mono color has been, I am itching to return to the silks.

On a completely unrelated note, have you ever read something in a work of fiction which starts a discussion in your head you just cannot turn off? Well, that's what's happened to me this week, so I thought I'd share. The idea in question was that women care whether other women have bust enhancements, but men could care less if they are real or plastic. Men just like big boobs. This started me thinking (always dangerous). I can virtually always spot the fake ones and usually feel compelled to point it out to my DH, if he's with me. I have this feeling that it doesn't *count* if you've got fake ones. But, then I think about it, and the book is right. Men really do not seem to care. They enjoy the scenery regardless (which says I'm pretty stupid for directing DH's attention to said plastic). Thus the question in my mind: Does it really matter if it's live or if it's Memorex?

Lest you think I suggest all who enhance are lesser creatures, let me say that I know a lovely woman who had been completely flat chested her entire life. All she wished for was a modest B cup. She promised herself that her reward for raising her children and seeing them through college was a boob job. She earned her reward, and looks wonderful. There is nothing abnormal looking about her proportions. Yes, they don't move like real girls, so most of us ladies could probably tell the difference. But, she feels so good about herself and is now wearing lots of stylish clothing she never felt comfortable doing before. This, I think, is an example of using such powers for good. However, I do think perhaps my acquaintance is a minority among the breast enhanced.

Discuss among yourselves, please.

Not Much Stitching

Haven't stitched since Friday. Spent Saturday and Sunday shoveling and recovering from shoveling. Last night I was dealing with quite a bit of numbness in my right hand (the result of aggravating the bone spurs in my neck whilst shoveling) and really could not grip the needle. And, to be honest, I was distracted by the last 200 pages of the most recent Wheel of Time book, The Gathering Storm. Tonight, I hope to stitch, but there will be kid schlepping to do because there is NO WAY Diva is driving with the current road conditions. My drive to the respective schools this morning was an adventure. I'll leave it at that having already ranted on one of the stitching boards upon my arrival home.

I did say I would share a pic of NSTR. Here it is:


I'd say I've got about 10-ish hours in it now. Happy with the color choices, still, which is good. I have determined that I will definitely need to run by the LNS and buy more floss. This much stitching took about a half skein of DMC, and I'm only about 25% complete with page 1 of 8. Granted, this is one of the most stitching intense pages. But I think I need to pick up a few more skeins as I *know* the four I bought will not be enough.

Not much else going on right now. The long range forecast suggests there may be more snow on the way Friday night/Saturday morning. I am not amused. But, apparently, the weather gods think snow in THE SOUTH is hilarious. Hope they are enjoying themselves.

January Goals Status Report/ February Goal Setting

Close counts in horse shoes, hand grenades and goal achievement. So, how'd I do this month?



Stitching Goals for January:

1. Select and purchase DMC for Nativity Story Table Runner, cut and serge fabric, and stitch on the piece for at least 8 hours. - I actually did this!! Yay me! I really love how it is turning out.

2. Finish part 7 of Medieval Town Mandala - Did this one too. Not too much of a stretch as I was really close at the beginning of the month.

3. Take Crabby All Year for framing. - Yep. It's hanging on the wall already. See previous post.

4. Attend Moonlight Stitching at the LNS. Yes!! It was much fun!

5. Stitch on Hanging Gardens of Semiramis for at least 10 hours. - Did this one, too.



Non-stitching Goals for January:

1. Recover my office from the holiday explosion. Sort of. Made a good start, but still have work to do.

2. Make appointment for self for dental check-up - oops.

3. Exercise at least 18 days this month. - thanks to the very invonvenient snow (see previous entry), I made 19 days, which includes three days of heavy snow shoveling. I will personally hurt anyone who hints that this does not count as exercise. I absolutely cannot raise my arms above my head right now!

4. Wipe hard drives on old PCs so they can be donated and removed from the house. YES! And, DH is much happy with me for it!

5. Organize storage room - Did this one, too! I was on a cleaning binge for a while. Kinda over it now.

So, I'd give myself an A- overall for January. Could have accomplished more stitching wise, but I had a couple of book distractions.

Now, what can I accomplish in February? OK, short month, plus Diva has three volleyball tournaments (two out of town) and DD#2 (I still need a blogname for her) has two out of town cheer competitions - not to mention a number of appointments scheduled for various sundry stuff - equals limited productivity. Here's what I think possible:

Stitching Goals for February

1. Stitch on Nativity Story Table Runner for 10 hours.

2. Stitch on Hanging Gardens for 10 hours.

3. Lace Vintage Stitches to foam core.

Non-stitching Goals for February

1. Finish organizing my office.

2. Exercise at least 15 days this month (this will be tough to accomplish).

3. Make appointment for self for dental check-up.

4. Have a serious conversation with Diva about the need to actually get a summer job this year (wish me luck - it won't be pleasant).

As I said, I'm keeping it reasonable given all that's going on in such a short time frame.

Meanwhile, I've been working on uploading all my stitching photos to flickr, complete with descriptions and details. When I make a little more progress, I'll post a link to the albums for WIPs and finishes on my sidebar. I always feel like I stitch and stitch and stitch but rarely finish anything. Going through all of my old photos and documenting the details has been really good for my ego in that respect. I've finished more than I've credited myself with. It just doesn't seem that way because some of what I've stitched is finished but not finish-finished (hence, the drawer of finished ornaments awaiting ornamentification) or, I've given them away. Anyway, photos to come soonish.

I know I owe you a progress picture on NSTR. Again, coming soon. Maybe even today if I get it together.

OMG I Hurt!

THREE HOURS spent shoveling snow. And, we're not finished yet. Still have about a third of the driveway left to do. My body just gave out. I am SO counting this as two workouts!

The weather gods have forgotten I live in the South. My blood is thin. 40 degrees Fahrenheit is as cold as I can handle without whining. And, I. DON'T. DO. SNOW.

I can be Crabby All Year now!

Very excited me! I picked up my finished/framed Crabby All Year from the LNS this week. Details for posterity: Design by Raise the Roof Designs. Stitched on 28 ct. linen Silkweaver Solo. Completed in 2009 - stitched a block each month. As charted except: signed name on check and used year for check number. Also added frog bead in Weeds block to commemorate "frogging" issues. Frog is cross-eyed.

It's hanging on the wall in my laundry room. You might think that an odd location, but it's really not. Because I have two teenage daughters who, by sheer virtue of existing, create mountains of laundry, I spend more time than I would like in my laundry room. It's a fairly large room with a big storage/hanging closet, an extra fridge, and a large sink in addition to the actual laundry facilities. Laundry processing is not my most favorite chore. So, I *need* something to make me laugh, or at least smile, since I spend so much time on said chore in said room. I love the humor in this design so much. It's one of the few pieces I've finished in recent history that was just for me.

So, I've now moved to Blogger for real. I am still learning how to set stuff up. So be patient. I did decide to use flickr for my photos. Reviving my old website was just proving too difficult for my technology challenged brain. As I am able, I will slowly be adding all my old HDs and WIPs (Happy Dances, i.e. finished projects, and Works In Progress for those who don't speak stiticher) to flickr. We'll see how that goes.

The teenagers got a hibernation day today, otherwise known as a snow day. As of the time of this post, I think we have almost two inches on the ground, and it's still coming down. I know those of you in the cold weather regions of the world are laughing, but this is enough to bring Nashville to a complete stand-still. The teenagers did wake in the 11:00 am - noon time frame for the purpose of consuming some calories and relocating to the vegatizing center (couch in front of the TV). Well, at least one of them has. I think I guilted the younger one into working on her research paper. Egads!!! Homework on a snow day! I am such the evil mother. And, I can live with that.