The dreaded hole

Here it is in all it's glory...patched right now:

I've got it over-patched right now. I've never put a hole in material before, but I've never not bought a professional kit or made my own before either. It has definitely put me off buying full kits from strangers.

I worked a bit more on Wednesday night and got this far:


And not much farther tonight:

Movin on up!

Yea me! Up to the top three pages now then all done! Problem with page 1 is that is where the hole is. I don't know whether to pull out the patch and hope the actual stitch will bind it, or stitch over the binding. I don't even know if I can stitch over the binding at all. Plus, the creator of the kit trimmed the material way too close to the pattern. I only have about an 1.5 inch of a border around the whole thing! Doesn't make well for keeping itself in the scroll!


Also finished Midsomer Murders 12 and only one more to go!

Back to work tomorrow...Birthday vacation over and done with. Definitely not looking forward to it. Vacations are good for me to relax the blood vessels in my brain (I have only had one migraine on a weekend since they started (my migraines, not weekends)...things that make you say hmmm?), but vacations do make me quite disassociative (like I need any help with that). The more I'm off, the more I want to be off. If I did ever win the lottery, I'd never set foot outside again! But seriously though, my face is already going numb (one of my migraine side effects).

On a completely non-me related note, some-bunny's hidden Mickey was shining brightly!

And the same some-bunny didn't get the long over-due haircut he so desperately needs. I just don't think he wanted me to (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!).

Birthday Post

Well, another B-day down the tubes. I spent it the way I usually do, not working and sitting on my tail-feathers. I bought my own cake (as I usually do) and ate it alone (as I usually do), but I got an amazing amount of work done!

Here's Monday night:


And Tuesday:


Also got series 11 of Midsomer Murders done:

Since I finally got series 13 in, I can breathe a sigh of relief on that front!

Thing about birthdays, the older I get, the less I care about celebrating them. Just another reminder of another year gone and nothing to show for it. Rather sad actually. That's why I always take off work on my birthday. I at least want to enjoy the most miserable day of the year in my favorite ways...sloth, envy, (I was born prideful, so that is inherent), and my all time favorite sin, gluttony! I don't have access to the materials for greed or lust and it's hard to be wrathful when you're home alone, so, I guess I'll have to be happy with four out of seven! Might as well break the rules of the religion of my birth on my birthday! The only bit of youth left in me...my rebellious nature!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! Here's to one more future miserable year!

Friends

Friendship for an Asperger is a strange thing because we don't like people much. But there have been a couple of occasions throughout my lifetime when someone has actually gotten through the barricades (to quote an old Spandau Ballet song). But they never last long. Why you ask? Because they play by the normal rules of friendship and I don't. They want to hang out all the time, and talk on the phone, and do things together. Problem is, I get bored with people quickly and they start to annoy me. But I typically don't handle it well and instead of explaining the situation to them, I just run them off. Which doesn't really upset me...saves me the trouble of an explanation, and the annoyance is gone.

What did a very wise woman once say? "I don't want people to be agreeable as it saves me the trouble of liking them". Could Jane Austen have been an Asperger too? Look at the facts, excellent imagination, no close relationships other than her sister. Hmm....makes you think a bit?

But, back to me, I have two friends who have managed to stick around, each for different reasons and I'd like to thank them for it. Maybe I'm feeling a bit soft today or something, or maybe it was all that sleep I got! Who knows! But thanks I'm about to give!

Firstly, to my dearest friend, Tony. We've been friends for years, but have become closer the last several. I don't trust men (although I do still like them for some stupid reason), not one single one in my life has been worth their weight in salt. Tony is different. I feel completely at ease with him. I know that he is 100% trustworthy and safe. Why doesn't he annoy me? We go for weeks without talking. Not for any nefarious reasons, but just because we live in separate towns and he has a life and I don't, so he's more busy than I am. But the point is, he's not in my face 24/7. He's there when I need him, we have fun together, and then I have my space! The best of both worlds! But when we do get together, it's as though we have never been apart...that's why our friendship works.

Secondly, to my friend Madison. We've also been friends for years also, but we have never met, in person that is. She lives halfway across the country from me. And that's why our friendship works! We talk online, we love the same things, Disney, Duran. We talk about our lives and share personal things...but the same space we've never shared (although we have been in Disney World at the same time - we just both chickened out when it came to meeting). Maybe we will meet someday when it's time, who knows! But I know that I can trust her just as much as any person I know in the flesh (next to Tony that is).

So this post is for them...my two best friends, Tony and Madison. Hopefully these two will be able to put up with me where others have failed, because it would actually hurt me if I were to loose either one of them! And that's saying a lot!

Midsomer Murders

I've also caught up on series 9:

And series 10:

All these people getting killed, how is there any people left in these little villages? Plus my series 13 still hasn't come in yet...I'm really getting worried about it! I get so attached to these shows and then I'm done and it's all over. But it is all still great fun!

Stitch update

Haven't made much progress past few days. Had to work a double shift on Friday (on top of my normal 10-12 hrs) and ended up with a bad headache and slept completely through Saturday. Got back to stitching today, but work was slow.

This was Tuesday's work:


This was Wednesday's:


And here was Sunday's:


Also discovered a bit of a gaff that's got me stumped. Apparently there was something I didn't notice. There is a ' and a `, only on the pattern, it's barely discernible, and I didn't discern it and now it's way to late to correct. It explains why Donald is so pink (although even if I could fix it, it would only make him a bit more purple). It's driving me nuts!

Between the hole in the material and the weird colors of the pattern, I'm just ready to chuck it in. I think I could create this pattern way better than what it is. I just hate to give up months of work. And I know that if I start it over again, I'll absolutely HATE working on it. Anybody have any thoughts? Should I just chuck it all in and start again, or just keep it going?

Ray McGlothlan

Many moons ago, on a planet far, far away, in another lifetime even, I did something at the age of 19 that changed my life. I left the comfort of my apartment (by that time I had already moved out of my parents house and had been living on my own for a couple of years), the only job I had ever had since I was 16 (a big deal to a 19 year old), even left college, to trek the 55 some-odd miles to the town of my birth and to the home of my Father, who I worshipped (and unfortunately, still do although we haven’t spoken in years), just to live with him for the first time in my life. I was shy, inexperienced in life and people, completely anti-social, and quite frankly, extremely immature. It was also when I first started showing signs of OCD. I know now I’ve had mild Asperger’s my whole life, but back then no one really even knew what it was, or would have even guessed that I had it, I just knew I had bad problems and tried to hide the worst of them as best as possible, but I’m digressing as usual.

After a time living with my Father I had to get a job. The very first one I applied for was at the local Housing Authority. For those of you who don’t know what a Housing Authority is, you might know it as a HUD office. I’m pretty sure since I only had pathology laboratory experience and was only 19, it was my Father’s influence that got me the job (he was a police lieutenant at the time), but needless to say, they did hire me and my life’s history began to be written!

At the same time I started, Ray McGlothlan also started working there. He was hired as the Assistant Executive Director, I was just a lowly Section 8 Clerk. Although he came from another Housing Authority and knew the business, we learned the local computer system together and how this particular branch ran. Ray and I butted heads a lot! I was head-strong, opinionated, (hate to keep repeating it) immature, and stubborn (all traits that come from my Father, just so you know and I swear that’s where my Asperger’s comes from BTW), dealing with internal struggles, but Ray never really seemed to be put off too much by my moods! There is no telling how much crap I gave him, but I can’t ever remember a time where he showed (at least to me) any anger for it (which probably just made me give him more crap trying to get him angry , I told you I was immature!).

Working at the Housing Authority gave me things I have never gotten anywhere else: my surrogate Ma who I still keep in touch with, introduction to a culture I had very little interaction with before, and a "sort" of compassion for others (as much as an Asperger can have anyway). It was the only job I have ever had that I truly loved and the only place I ever worked that I felt like I belonged. I felt like I made a difference and I actually wanted to make that difference. I was respected there, valued there, and wanted there. I will never have that again. Ray was a part of that.

I eventually fell out with my Father and moved back home (the first of many fallings out, but another story for another time). I drove back and forth between the two towns for a year, but an hour each way got to be too much and I eventually had to quit per my Step-dad's instructions (but I did so kicking and screaming!). I also eventually ended up working at the Housing Authority in my home town, but it pretty much killed all that I learned at the first Housing Authority since it was it's polar opposite in values, so I ended up back at the pathology lab where I started and have been back ever since, almost 16 years now. But longevity does not breed contentment folks...another blog for another day.

But Ray stayed on, and eventually became the Executive Director, and now he’s retiring! My how time flies when you are getting old! Wednesday is his retirement party. I wanted to go (I thought it was next week when I had scheduled off, but apparently not and someone sent my invitation to the wrong address so I didn’t get notified in time to made adequate arrangements to take off in time). So I’m doing the next best thing…blogging my presence!! I did pull out the pics from my going away party and am posting some of them, can't really post them all, and yes, there are none of me, but hey, I did post one of my desk and notice the early trappings of the OCD! So enjoy our past together, and Ray, enjoy your retirement future!!

Sincerely, your most annoying underling...

Keebles!

Vicar of Dibley - Post watch review #2

I absolutely LOVE Dawn French! And Vicar of Dibley is what introduced me to Richard Armitage! I started eating up every square inch of him I could find after this, then I found North and South and I was a gonner! I never even associated him with Guy of Gisbourne on Robin Hood even though I own the first series (I never bought the second series because, well, for those who have seen it, you know why - another review for another day!).

This is one of the first British sets I bought, and I bought it American. It cost me a small fortune!! Now there is a newer set and I've been considering getting the newer set and giving the older one (since it's region 1) to my Mother because I know she will love it too, if she would give it a chance.

The set contains the complete three series, plus all the specials and the Holy Wholly Happy Ending (which I watch all the time - I actually have it on my ipod!). The complete series spans about 10 or so years, they weren't filmed in seasonal order like American shows are (most British shows don't work that way...the actors do three or four different series at a time and they swap their time between them all and do a new series when they can all get together).

Richard Curtis (of Four Weddings and A Funeral, Bridget Jones, Love Actually, Notting Hill, Mr. Bean, and Blackadder fame) was the main writer for the series, so if that gives you any indication as to the quality of the writing or the level of the humor, then you would be spot on!

The series centers around Geraldine Granger, who is a Vicar sent to the tiny village of Dibley to a bunch of old codgers who are terrified at the thought of a woman vicar! One in particular, David Horton, does everything he can to get rid of her, but even he eventually succumbs to her charms and even eventually proposes to her! She's forced to deal with Owen, who loves his farm animals just a bit too much, if you get my meaning, Jim, who stutters "no" when he means "yes", and "Frank" who is too long winded for his own good. Her best friend and verger Alice is a complete nutter, but finds love of her own (in the useless son of David Horton, Hugo!). Geraldine has her ups in downs in love as well, getting rather serious at one point with David's brother. But Harry is the one that wins her heart in the end and what a fantastic ending it is! Look for an amazing performance by Hugh Bonneville (who I absolutely adore) as well in the finale ending.

And there is a Jane Austen tie-in for the ending for you Janeites out there as well! But you'll just have to watch and see to catch it!

Once you've seen the series, go on YouTube and find the comic relief special with Sting and Trudie Styler, it's about 10 minutes or so, but also, incredibly hilarious!

I do have to add, the show isn't all about humor though, there are serious moments, and there are important issues dealt with, but it's not shoved down your throat. This show was ground breaking in it's time. Woman vicars were rare and not looked kindly upon. This show changed things. And Dawn French knew that and she didn't take that role lightly, even if it was a comedic role. She rallied for the women vicars and still does to this day. There are plenty of behind the scenes features that go into detail about specific she wanted to be and how she sometimes had to fight for what she wanted. But being who she is, she got what she wanted, and that's why I love her so!

So I definitely recommend The Vicar of Dibley 110%! It's not as expensive as it once was, and the newest incarnation of the set is even cheaper!

Yeah!

Another page bites the dust! I am now more than halfway done!


Further thoughts on Torchwood:

You know, I thought more about it today, and it wasn't just the Americanization of it that bothered me. By being on Starz, it reached an audience that had never before seen it, and had the potential to not only bring in future viewers of it, but of Doctor Who as well. But my over-analyzing brain kept coming to one conclusion over and over...anyone that had never seen an episode of Torchwood before, after watching the Miracle Day series, walked away knowing absolutely nothing about Torchwood, specifically: what had happened in the past; why Jack is immortal (great back-story BTW) what the purpose of Torchwood was; Ianto was the only older character that was mentioned, but they never told who he was or how he died or even that he was a member of the team, all you knew was that he was Jack's old lover; why Gwen and Rhys were in hiding in the first place; what happened to the old hub or even what a hub was (although they did mention it and did visit it's old site).

Like I said before, I am a fan of the series, I've seen them all, I own them, I watch them. On every series, when new characters are introduced, they get the back-story of Torchwood. It gets old after a time, but its necessary for the newer viewers. Would it have been so hard to spend 10 minutes of an episode after the CIA figured out what Torchwood was to have one character explain it to another character for the benefit of the viewers who are new to the series? Duh! The fans of the show understood the old storylines and could follow along, but they isolated what could have been tons of potential newer viewers.

Plus, knowing Doctor Who like I do, and how integrated with Torchwood he is, he would NEVER have let Miracle Day get as far as it did without stepping in and helping...he has NEVER left the world or Jack to fend for themselves like that and that was another sign of the lack of integration of the previous editions of the Torchwood series...the Doctor ALWAYS steps in and saves the day when it gets too bad.

What Progress!

My hands hurt, my wrists hurt, my arms hurt, even my back hurts! But wow! What a difference a task makes thanks to the International Hermit and Stitch Weekend! I made it through a lot farther than I thought I would!

Here's Saturday's work:


And Sunday's:


Plus I made it through series Eight of Midsomer Murders today:

I've started series Nine and I'm a bit miffed they didn't explain DC Scott's leaving (at least so far). At least the new DC is on the rest of the covers (through Twelve - I still don't have Thirteen, but I did get word it's shipped).

Ready for IHSW!

Here is Thursday nights work:



My goal for the International Hermit and Stitch Weekend is to finish all of page 6! In reality though, I figure I'll get Donald's face done, his hand, Mickey's pants, and maybe part of Mickey's belly. But it never hurts to aim high! But in very non-typical fashion, I'm going to bed early tonight, and start early on Saturday!

I've had some excellent suggestions from both Vickie and Anne for my possible Persuasion letter project, and I'm really getting excited about it! And Anne's link to the patternmakercharts blog literally makes my mouth water! I can't wait to be able to spend time searching the site!

So while I'm busy with the IHSW, and for my non-stitching friends, here's a little something for ya that you'll love if you'll give it a chance...this is Adele (who you probably know) putting her own twist on a Cheryl Cole song (who you probably don't know) on the BBC1 Live Lounge.

Moving right along!

Must be something in the water lately! I've been really moving along!

Tuesday night:



and Wednesday:



I decided since the marking pencil kept fading out, I'd try the pen on this section, and so far so good. I can definitely see the lines better and it's not fading (yet). And thanks so much to the The Crafty Princess for all her kind words! I absolutely love her blog!! Since I've been reading blogs, I've learned more about cross-stitching than all my years of actually doing it! And I love seeing everyone else's progress!

Once I finish Mickey and Friends, my next project will be my first HAED, which just so happens to be the same artist as The Crafty Princesses first HAED, Jasmine Becket-Griffith, only mine is A Walk Through The Highlands:

I fell in love with this picture the moment I saw this, and not because it looks a little tiny bit like me, same color hair (when I get my hair done, anyway), same eye color, pale skin, same small hands, and it's very similar to my family tartan. But what truly struck me was a wide-eyed girl in a cold gray world, all alone, with nothing but a sword for protection which she holds on to for dear life. The sword is so big in her tiny hands, one wonders if she is actually able to use it to defend herself and maybe that's the reason her eyes are so wide, she wonders the same, but her face stays brave just the same. Me in a nutshell.

I really wish I could work on more than one project at a time, but I just don't think I could handle it! I'm too obsessive about the one I'm working on to be switching back and forth! But I so admire the people who do it!

I also have finished series seven of Midsomer Murders! Moving right along on that front as well! I Still haven't received series thirteen yet, but there are delays all across the board on Amazon UK. Probably due to the burning of the Sony distribution factory during the London riots. But I can wait. Such senseless violence, all those people out of work...such sadness. But I'm off topic again. Midsomer series 7 - Sergeant Troy is gone and now we have a new Sergeant...much cuter, but not as likeable. Other than that, still tons of murders in such tiny little villages! It's surprising there are any villagers left!

And finally...I'm joining my first International Hermit and Stitch Weekend! Funny thing is, I'm a hermit every day of my life! But this should be great fun just to be a part of something like this! I've never done anything like it! Publicly being a hermit! What an oxymoron!

Donald page 9 complete!

Yeah!! Between last night:



and tonight:



Donald is just about done and another page is finished! Only five more pages to go! I'm really dreading the upper last two though, all that boring yellow ocre...ugh. But maybe because there won't be so much confetti and I won't be switching colors so much, it will go quickly. A girl can hope!

After doing the breast cancer project and going back to this one though, I have noticed something, 18ct aida goes a lot faster than 14ct. Since my next one is on 25ct, I should fly through it!

Unsung Videos Of The 80's - Their list

I was about to go to bed, but I thought I'd check one of my usual haunts, and they had a list of the 20 most "unsung" videos of the 80's. Unsung for them maybe. But it did get me to thinking (and keeping me from going to sleep apparently) about what my 10 most defining (not unsung, because, where I come from, all my music was unsung at the time) videos from the 80's were. Now, of course you'd have to exclude all Duran Duran, or they'd take up the whole list...so for the sake of Duranie fairness...I am going to leave them off my list (although they were on their list, although not the obvious choice of "Hungry Like The Wolf", but "Is There Something I Should Know?"). I think if I could choose just one, and although it is not my favorite now, I would probably choose "Careless Memories", or maybe "Lonely In Your Nightmare", but then again maybe...well, you get my point...Duran has to be left out for sanity's sake. But for the record, my all-time favorite Duran Duran song is Serious, which was off their least popular album and the most unsung of all the Duran hits IMO.

I did agree with some of the artists (if not the songs) they chose, however, and in two of the cases, not only did I agree, but they made my list as well. Let me start by giving you their list and I don't think they were in any kind of order:

1) The Jam - "Going Underground": I never was a Jam fan. At the time of my youth I was a new waver, and although new wave sprung from the punk scene, I didn't care for punk.

2) The Cure - "Primary": The Cure made my list, but I don't think this was the best of their unsungs. And although my choice isn't technically an "unsung", considering my upbringing in Northeast Arkansas, let's face it, any Cure song is an "unsung".

3) Joy Division - "Love Will Tear Us Apart": I do love this song...now. At the time, I couldn't understand a bloody word Ian Curtis was saying! Only years later when I heard New Order (the remnant band of Joy) redo it, did I finally understand it.

4) Fine Young Cannibals - "Johnny Come Home": I love English Beat (the origins of the Cannibals) and General Public (the other off-shoot), But Roland Gift's voice did and still does give me the creeps!

5) Fun Boy Three Featuring Bananarama - "It Ain't What You Do": Catchy song, but not life altering.

6) Fantayzee - "Shiny Shiny": I turned the channel everytime this came on MTV, enough said.

7) Altered Images - "I Could Be Happy": Again, catchy song, but no lasting impressions.

8) Lene Lovich - "It's You Mein Schmertz": Video wise, great vid, song wise, not in my library (although was probably on a cassette tape play list back in the day).
9) Adam And The Ants - "Stand And Deliver": Oh my beloved Stuart Goddard! I didn't become an Ant fan until he went solo, but god that man was gorgeous! What flair!

10) Duran Duran - "Is There Something I Should Know?": Interesting choice, and probably wisely chosen. Duran were known for their flashy, expensive island videos, and this one was anything but, even though it was also directed by Russell Mulcahy (best known as the director of the Highlander movie).

11) Depeche Mode - "But Not Tonight": This is the first one that is on my list. I LOVE this song! Plus, it's from a great 80's movie that probably no one ever saw but me with Daphne Zuniga, Virginia Madsen, and Clayton Rohner called Modern Girls.

12) A-ha - "The Sun Always Shines on TV" - The second that is also on my list (although I'm not a huge A-ha fan). I never understood why they are considered a one-hit wonder in the States when they had tons of hits! This was by far the best song from the "Hunting High and Low" album and I still play that video today.

13) The Clash - "This Is Radio Clash": Punk...me no like-y. Need I say more?

14) U2 - "Desire": Anybody that knows me knows I can't STAND U2...I may be the only human on the plant who can't stand them, but there you go.

15) Echo And The Bunnymen - "The Cutter": I LOVE LOVE LOVE Ian McCullough! They didn't make my list, but only because I only did 10 instead of 20.

16) Time Zone - "World Destruction": I didn't like rap back in that time period, that came much later, and MTV rarely played them anyway.

17) Grandmaster Caz/Chris Stein - "South Bronx Subway Rap": See above, same deal.

18) Front 242 - "Quite Unusual": I remember loving the music (reminds me a lot of a German band I love called Camouflage), but the singer creeped me out.

19) Pat Benatar - "We Belong": I had to grow to appreciate Pat. I didn't care for her in the 80's.

20) David Bowie - "Absolute Beginners": Now, I know that without Bowie I wouldn't have Duran, but I ain't a Bowie fan. Of his entire body of work, only Labyrinth is the piece that I liked the best (and it has nothing to do with him). I remember that the Blue Jean video gave me nightmares!

Here is the link to their list and their comments BTW:


20 Unsung Videos From the 1980's

Current progress

Here is the work from Wednesday night:


And here is Saturday's:


Donald is really beginning to pop! I was originally very happy with the pencil grid marker, but the more I work on it, it's fading away to nothing. And I was afraid I wouldn't be able to wash it away! I've had to re-draw the lines. When I move to the new section, I might try the pen. It's a much darker area (except for Donald's hand) so it might hide the marks better if it doesn't wash well. I've rearranged it on a different set of stretcher bars to better reach the bottom of the project.

This was a project I bought off of Ebay years and years ago from a seller who created them from software. I won't name the creator, but, the further I go, the more disappointed I am. I am too far in the project to quit it, but the color matching is horrible...Donald is pink for heaven's sake! I began to run out of thread after the first section. The aida cloth is terrible! I have NEVER in my whole life put a hole in material, but I've done it on this one! I've temporarily patched it, I just hope when I get to that area to stitch, I can fix it so it's not visible! If you click on any of the pictures, it will take you to the picture link and I don't know if you can see it or not on the full size pic, but the hole is between Mickey and Goofy, about five inches up.

I'll just keep on till it's finished! It's what I do!

Older projects

I've been cross-stitching since I was 12 (and I still have that first project locked away in a trunk).  My Step-Granny got me started because she couldn't teach me to crochet or knit (I just couldn't get it - whether it was the teacher or student we may never know, I never tried to crochet or knit again).  But needless to say, cross-stitching stuck and I'm still doing it.  I did also try embroidery (which my Mother used to do), but it was too hard with all the different kinds of stitches.

Most people find it funny that I can cross stitch because I'm such an impatient person.  I think there is actually a very easy explanation and it's the explanation that defines me...OCD.  Cross-stitching is all about counting, counting the number of little colored X's you make in a row, and what are OCD's known to do?  Count.  I catch myself doing it all the time in my head.  Yes, I know, my math skills may suck, but numbers constantly run through my head, but here I go digressing again.

My first large project took me years...almost 10 to be exact.  I would work on it solidly for months, then wouldn't touch it for years.  I graduated high school, started college, quit college, moved towns, changed jobs, even got married all while doing this, and to this day, I've never done such a complicated project. Most of these stitches are two different colored strings put together. It was crazy! But without further ado:


I did a couple of projects during the "marriage years" (which only lasted two years...two terrible, horrible, miserable years):


This project hung for years, but the frame broke a few years ago and I didn't take care of it, so it's yellowing and is frayed pretty badly (I used to use tape on my projects to attach them to the stretcher bars...I didn't realize the long-term effects). Plus, I trimmed it horribly to fit the frame in the first place. I actually found the same project on ebay (even though it hasn't been sold for years), so I'm gonna re-do it someday. I have the whole set of these (there were four). I've done another one too.


After my divorce, I didn't stitch for a long time. I kept buying projects and built a huge stash, but never did any. Then, one trip to Disney World, they suddenly had cross stitches! Yea me! A new renaissance was born!
This one is mounted with it's matching pin:

This is the largest project I've ever done:

This is non-disney, but it was a nice distraction:


This was originally supposed to be on black material, but I couldn't bring myself to do it, and I'm glad I didn't:

Another of the mouse sets:

I'm not going to frame those until they are all done together and they can have matching frames.

I've done projects for other people (the giant Jesus head I did for my Grandmother still haunts me...who knew there was so many colors of brown in the world!). Some were more fun than others, some I was glad I did, some I wish I could have back. I've got a few of the little Disney character faces I display at work and everytime I finish a large project, I do one of those as a "cool down".

I've emptied out my stash through the years...and restocked it. I could literally sit and stitch constantly for the rest of my life and never finish what I have in my current stash (which now consists mainly of Disney projects). Because I have stitching software and can make my own projects, I constantly make even more stash! Maybe one day when I win the lottery, I can spend all day stitching (but then I probably won't want to!).

London Real Estate

http://search.knightfrank.com/rvr100231

Ok, so I do fantasize about winning the lottery...a lot!  And...I spend a lot of time looking at real estate, in both Florida and abroad.  So I decided to give you a peek into my little fantasy world...Keebles style!

This property has had my eye for a couple of years now.  One, because of the purple cabinets, of course!  But, also, because of the amazing views down the river!  As a huge Spooks (MI-5) fan, it's also cool to be right next to Vauxhall Cross (MI-6 headquarters for those that don't know) and cross the river and a perfect sightline of Thames House (MI-5).  And look kids...it's Big Ben and Parliament, and Big Ben, and Parliament...(if you don't get that reference then you are either too young or too culturally deprived!).  It has massive balcony space overlooking the river and huge open spaces. 

I don't normally look at properties on this side of the river...I do tend to lean toward the Kensington (because gotta love those famous wealthy neighbors), Chelsea (for the cool artiness and to be a West-End girl), and Marlyebone (because who wouldn't want to live steps away from 221-B Baker Street).  But I do like this property, plus it's just steps away from the Vauxhall Bridge which leads directly into Chelsea, so no worries there!

Take That - «Shine» [At Abbey Road / The Circus Live] [HQ]

Since my life is kind of screwy right now...thought I'd share a bit of my mantra song with ya'll in it's purest form, unplugged and raw. Ain't Markie cute?

Stitching so far and brutal thoughts on work

So, this is the progress for Monday night...


And here is Tuesday!


It's amazing how much difference graphing the actual aida has done! I used the pencil instead of the pen because the point was much finer and I could keep it sharp. I really wasn't expecting this much of a difference, but it really makes it easier to see, not only where I am, but where I'm going!

I'm still a bit too scared to try parking the stitches, and I'm not sure that on 18ct I even need to at least not till I get to the next project and move up (or down as the case may be) to 25ct (and trust me I'm terrified of it and hope at least somebody gets me my magnifying light for my B-day so I don't have to (on my Amazon wish list peeps), although since no one reads my blog but me, I guess I'm on my own with that HA! - but public consumption of my thoughts and work aren't the purpose here...I'm digressing again).

On a serious note, having three days off in a row really made me appreciate the fact that I do work way to much. The headache I had Friday night proved that. I don't EVER want to go through that again and I'll never dispute the fact that I do have migraines with my neurologist again. Friday was also the only time in my entire life I actually needed to call 911 and it scared the crap out of me (unfortunately I was catatonic and couldn't do it, which was probably a good thing...imagine the bill!).

The conversation I had with a certain boss on Thursday that caused said headache made me realize one thing...I'm like a very valuable hostage with no one to pay my ransom, so therefore I can be abused more because who's gonna care? There's no one around to see said abuse and stupid me has been letting it go on for far too long and even allowed it to happen. OMG! I have Stockholm Syndrome!! I have stupidly thought all these years that if I did all that was asked of me and even went above and beyond everyone else I'd be respected more, but, if anything, I'm probably respected the least. I have to find a way to make them see that I'm a valuable employee that deserves way more respect than I get. But lord if I know how! But then again, maybe I shouldn't even bother...I may have to lie in the grave I've dug...at least till I finish my education, and then walk away without a backward glance.

I'm regretting the decision to put school off till next fall, it puts me another year behind in my goal, but then again, it's made me realize that any thought to furthering my education with the added bonus of benefiting them is completely out of the question. Thursday was the kick in the pants I needed I guess. I must do what's best for me and what's always been best for me is to get the heck out of dodge. I've known that since I was 10 years old. Question is, what am I so scared of and why has it taken me until I'm in my 40's and borderline too friggin old to do anything about it? I'm the only person with the power to change my life...I just have to take that first step, and hopefully that first step is finishing my edu-ma-cation and finding a career that better suits me and my talents...I'm just wasting away in my current position and everyone knows it. I didn't used to care, but now that I do, it's eating away at me more and more each day. I have to have a roof over my head and food in my fat gullet (as well as Zachary's fat gullet), but at what cost? I know I'm comfortable with my surroundings, but does that make it worth it all? I don't even think my Social Anxiety Disordered/borderline Asperger's Syndromed brain cares anymore. It's time to bring on a little discomfort (in a manageable environment, of course, which I have 100% totally planned out and have complete control over!).

So, like the good little hostage that I am, I will continue to do what I'm told, take my beatings, and, every little chance I get, use my spoon to dig my get-away tunnel and hopefully in four years time, I will see the light of day!

Productive weekend!

I finished the secret project!

Now to get it framed!

And back to the project at hand armed with some new tools and tricks!

And, on top of that, I've finished Midsomer Murders Series Three and Four!

Definitely an interesting two series! A very young Orlando Bloom (before he had a chance to hone his acting skills apparently) taking a pitchfork to the gullet! An even younger Tobias Menzies before he got his teeth altered better, Peter Penry-Jones, father of my beloved Rupert, and even Rupert's little brother Laurence...definitely tops Stephen Moyer from series 1! Now on to series Five and Six!

Disney World Halloween

So photos are starting to appear online of Disney World's Halloween decorations. I really shouldn't even look at them, but I can't seem to help myself. You see Walt Disney World (WDW for short) is my favorite place on earth and WDW at Halloween is even more magical! My perfect utopia! I've starting thinking of it as my mood-leveler...I only need at least one dose a year, but what will happen if I miss a dose? I don't have barely any joys in life, not like "normal" people and I really can't explain how WDW makes me feel, in the simplest terms, it makes me feel "happy". Those who know me know I'm not a "happy" person. Very few have seen me in the WDW atmosphere, but those who have know how I'm different there.

A Disney trip provides me with a goal. It sets my OCD brain on a quest for the year. I typically loose weight (to be able to fit into my vacation clothes), I exercise (to train for all the walking), I map out schedules and plan things moment to moment, and I spend uncountable hours just dreaming about my favorite place. More than anything, planning affords me with an outlet for the crappy things that inevitably happen in my life. My escape. Sure, I have cross-stitching, but my brain is free of roam and dwell on all the worries of my life, although it does help temporarily.

But this year I can't go for various reasons and trust me, I am feeling the loss, even more so during the fall season, my usual WDW vacation time. With everything going so poorly in every other aspect of my life, it wouldn't be possible anyway, not only financially, but work-wise there just isn't time. And once I start school next year, that means at least three more years without going. But, at the same time, with everything going so poorly, this should be the time that I do go...to get my dose, as it where. So, what do I do? There is nothing I can do really. I know that. But it doesn't keep me from wanting to go.

Guess I'll just have to keep waiting for the day that I win the lottery and can move to WDW and live there. Only then will I truly be happy...in the meantime, I guess I'll just keep torturing myself with other people's pictures.

Persuasion letter project

So,I've been trying to come up with an idea for Captain Wentworth's letter to Anne Elliot, in a crafty sense that is. My art days are long gone, or my first thought of inking it is an impossibility, so what's my other option?...stitching it. I've seen poems stitched, so I know it's do-able, so why couldn't a letter be stitchable?

For those of you that don't know the story of Persuasion...I'll summarize briefly...rich girl meets poor boy, they fall in love and want to get married but her family & friends persuade her to say no, so she does. Eight years later, her family's no longer rich, she's "lost her bloom", and she's still totally in love with him. He, on the other hand, is mega rich (even richer than Darcy in Pride and Prejudice BTW), and totally still pissed off at her. But due to a series of events, they are shoved together again, she thinks he doesn't love her anymore and is forced to watch him flirt with others. He slowly stops being pissed and watches others flirt with her. They rarely ever talk to one another, but they always seem to be around each other, they almost can't seem to help it. They are almost like two magnets turned backwards.

Then one day, they find themselves once again together, in a room full of people...she is having a conversation with someone else about men, women, love, relationships and constancy, and he is supposedly writing a letter to a framer, but he can't help but over-hear her conversation and he starts a new letter...one to her. The room begins to clear, he hides her letter under his gloves and leaves to go to the framers, but returns under the guise that he forgot his gloves. He grabs her attention to the secret letter, promptly exits the room again, and she begins to read the most romantic letter quite possibly ever written, and trust me, I have books of famous romantic letters, and none come close IMO. The two magnets, my friends, are now aligned properly.


Miss A.E.

I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. You alone have brought me to Bath. For you alone, I think and plan. Have you not seen this? Can you fail to have understood my wishes? I had not waited even these ten days, could I have read your feelings, as I think you must have penetrated mine. I can hardly write. I am every instant hearing something which overpowers me. You sink your voice, but I can distinguish the tones of that voice when they would be lost on others. Too good, too excellent creature! You do us justice, indeed. You do believe that there is true attachment and constancy among men. Believe it to be most fervent, most undeviating, in

F. W.

I must go, uncertain of my fate; but I shall return hither, or follow your party, as soon as possible. A word, a look, will be enough to decide whether I enter your father's house this evening or never.

Yeah...if you didn't let out an audible sign when you read that, then something MUST be wrong with you! Even Anne herself says "such a letter was not to be soon recovered from". And yes, I can quote most of that without having to look it up (although various movie incarnations of it confuse me sometimes and that last bit always escapes me). Needless to say, she accepts his proposal, and since Frederick is now wealthy, there is no family opposition to the marriage, and they live happily ever after.

So back to the question at hand, how would you stitch it? Does anyone have any thoughts? The lettering is not the problem, it's the border. Neither Anne nor Fred are flowery kind of people so a flowery-type border is probably out the question. Most Austen books have illustrations, and there is an illustration for this particular scene. Should I incorporate it? There really isn't a high enough resolution picture on the web of it though to do so.

Spooks - Adam, Lucas & Tom (Reach out - Hilary Duff)

And the Spy Boys!

Period Drama Montage "It's Raining Men" (REDO)

The Period Boys