Wednesday, September 29, 2004


Sampler Gameboard - Haven't scanned in a while, so here it is! Posted by Hello

Thursday, September 23, 2004


Monsterbubble freebie nearly finished  Posted by Hello

Wednesday, September 22, 2004


Monsterbubble Freebie WIP
10ct Lt Blue Tula Posted by Hello

Treat Time Finished
14ct Linen Aida Posted by Hello

Thursday, September 9, 2004

Round Three

The Keys are being evacuated of tourists in preparation for Hurrican Ivan "The Terrible" - told you all it was a historically bad name to ignore. Catagory 5 with winds of 160 mph. So I guess this weekend it's "Round Three" for our state, certainly deja vu for us on the Gold Coast. Weather today is back to tropical paradise.

In political news,
USA Today came out with an article about a Guard Commander who felt he had to sugar coat his criticism of young Dubya's service and Memos have been unearthed that show Dubya was suspended from flying. The Pentagon managed to "lose" some of Dubya's military records (as you all might have heard in July) but I guess they weren't thorough enough purge the records of his commanders - kinda dumb thing for them to do. It's getting fun folks, just wait until Kitty Kelley's book comes out next week. They've already begun the spin control.

Happy news today:
Puppy Shot Man Trying To Kill Dogs. Seems like a man was holding two puppies, one in his arms and another in his left hand, when the puppy in his hand wiggled and put its paw on the trigger, making the gun discharge. How's that for poetic justice? I betcha they are being flooded with calls to adopt those puppies.

Site of the day is
Needle Maid Designs. As many of you might know, Martha Schmidt was killed in an automobile accident in June on her way to teach classes at a cross stitch show. However, her family will be making many of her designs available for free on the site for the next few months so that her legacy continues. There are some pretty informative instructions available right now on the site, including a basic stuff such as "how to stitch on aida" and "how to stitch on linen". Thanks so much, Nancy, for letting me know about this site.

Balance

I was thinking last night about two things. The first is how wonderful the internet is at bringing people together. Cross stitching, and needle arts in general, are not as popular as they used to be. Once upon a time, when women didn't have to juggle two jobs - one outside the house, and the other inside - we actually had a little free time to devote to hobbies, and needlework was somewhat popular. From the 70s forward, women, especially those in their 20s and 30s (the childbearing years) simply don't have time. Moreover, sitting home doing anything hasn't been popular for several decades. Nowadays everyone is climbing walls, working out, surfing, what have you. The number of those practicing the needlearts is dwindling and most needle artists tend to be over 40 (the start of the "finally have time to breathe" years).

Thanks to the internet, however, you can make friends with many other cross stitchers you wouldn't have otherwise met. We can get together and support each other in our hobby without so much as having to leave our homes. It's pretty awesome. I have local cross stitching friends too, and nothing personal, I rather get together "in real life" than online even though I'm a geek. Nevertheless, I belong to at least a dozen online cross stitching groups (if not more) - all of which I used to post daily to.

The second thing I was thinking about is how the internet, wonderful as it is, tends to suck you (and your free time) in. You start out thinking, "I'm going to check my mail" or "I'm going to see what's new in the group" "I'm just going to read the news" and before you know it, you are surprised that an hour (or two or three) has passed. This loss of time begins to be problematic if it continues over an extended period of time and, eventually, burns you out as seem to have less and less time for everything and you don't seem to accomplish as much as you used to - both of which cause constant stress.
The fact of the matter is that we can do anything we want, but we can't do everything we want. Time, once spent, can't be reused, so we need decide how much time to devote to what and try to stick to it. Many people don't have problems balancing their internet time. I'm online a lot because I have been working in e-commerce for a long time now, and for me it can be a problem simply because I am online as many as 12 hours a day, between work and pleasure. Even so, a lot of us are working at computers all day even if we don't work for internet-based companies. I've been staring at a screen daily since 1989!
So, the point I'm getting at here, is that many of us are burning ourselves out unnecessarily. A few months ago, I started using a timer for personal computer use. Not one of those dorky kitchen ones, but on my computer. I spend one hour at a time and when that's over, I walk away. I have a mandatory 20 minute wait before I get on again. If at work, I allow myself a 10 minute mental health break to check my mail and maybe check out a group. Only 1 such break for every 4 hours of work. I feel more in control now and these groups, and the internet, have not collapsed from my absence. I also don't feel as stressed as I used to - I actually have time now for other things. Well, my hour is up, folks. Gotta get ready for work. I will be back later today to post about needlework and current events.

Wednesday, September 8, 2004

Still Trying to Catch Up

Work continues to be a bear. Too much of it and not enough time - half the week gone, and didn't it just start? The weather here, which I only mention because the entire nation appears to be currently fixated on it - is cloudy and rainy. Personally, it doesn't bother me - we have so many sunshiney days as it is and the change breaks up the monotony. Ivan is out there wrecking havoc. Most models don't have it coming here, but it's a bit early to make any predictions.
We passed the 1,000 casualty mark yesterday. What a sad milestone to pass. Seven Marines, ages 19-22 were killed by a car bomb. Two Italian relief workers were kidnapped and foreign aid agencies are planning to leave. We so need to pull out. The Boston Globe came out with a piece today saying that Pres. Bush "fell short of his military obligations and was not disciplined for it". Not exactly a news flash for most of us, but now it's not just his political oppnonents saying so. Speaking of which, a new group, "Texans for Truth" is coming out with their own ad saying Bush did not fulfill his military obligations. I guess the name may have been inspired by the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth". Salon has a really good article on who these folks really are.
On to stitching! I took the Sampler Gameboard to the SAL yesterday - managed to put some stitches into it. Still no scanner, so y'all will just have to be patient. LOL! Today's site of the day is Needle Artworks. Awesome site. Not only do they have several incredible needle artists, such as Genny Morrow and her famous Nova piece, but they also have a very extensive Thread Inventory, Cyber Classes, articles on needlecraft photography, and a monthly feature on a thread and a stitch. You can spend a lot of time on that site! Hope y'all enjoy it.

Tuesday, September 7, 2004

Tuesdays Keep Me Sane

No matter how rough the week gets, I can always count on a Tuesday coming along and making it all better. As I have mentioned in weeks past, today is the SAL at my LNS. I have to call later today to make sure they are okay and the shop didn't have any damage. So far, no one from the group has heard from them.
I forgot yesterday to add a Site of the Day, so today I will give you two: one stitching related, and the other one not. I will give you the non-stitching one first before you disappear on me: it is Digital Soulvation a photo blog from another Hallandale Beach resident. Anyone with a picture of the Hallandale Beach Ball gets mentioned in my blog. Simple as that. So, if you are curious about where I live, hop on over and take a gander. If you are still with me, the stitching related site is one that is quite useful right now and hopefully will become even more so as it is added on. The Cross Stitch Magazine Database already boasts 264 indexed magazine issues and 2,757 patterns! Need I say more? Go over there and check it out! Better yet, I'd like to challenge everyone who reads this blog today to index one issue for her by Sunday. You know we all will benefit from it, so let's help!

Well, it's back to the salt mill for me. Tons of work waiting for me since we've been closed since Thursday thanks to Hurricane Frances. The inventory project is stalled at 1,355 charts - all my stash remains evacuated until Ivan is no longer a threat, so I guess the earliest I will be able to update will be next week.

Monday, September 6, 2004

September Goals

I forgot to publish my stitching goals for September. I usually put these up at the Rotation Stitchers board. This month weeks begin on Wednesdays and end on Tuesdays, and with tomorrow being Tuesday, I thought it'd be a good idea to update.
SEPTEMBER GOALS
Stitch 4 Gameboard squares per week - this is the only one done
Finish 4 RR pieces - one a week (nope, stash evacuated Thursday)
Lizzie Kate's Treat Time (not started - evacuated)
Finish MLI Angel - worked on it at my LNS last Tuesday.
Work 3 sessions on the Rose Garden (evacuated)
Work 3 sessions on Who's The Boss? (evacuated)
Hinzeit Marines (evacuated)
Hinzeit Purse (not arrived)
Work 3 sessions on the Santa Huck Towel (evacuated)
Considering that so much of my stash has been evacuated, and that due to all the excitement of the past few days, I have pretty much lost an entire week of stitching, so I will remove the last 3-4 goals and just add them back next month. I did keep the MLI angel with me but it's too detailed and I just can't seem to concentrate on it right now. When I find my scanner (can't remember if I put it up or evacuated it) I will scan updates of #1 and #4.
Good night, y'all. Thanks for all your kind thoughts and emails.

Back to Normal - Almost

Water was out from late last night until around 10am this morning - not bad all things considered. I realized it was coming back when I started hearing some strange noices coming from my toilet - it was air in the pipes coming out with a spraying of water and you could hear it EVERYWHERE in the house - it was that loud, so I took a screwdriver to keep the big balloon thingy up and stop the racket. About an hour later, a trickle of orange water started coming out of the sink in the kitchen, and the next time I checked, about half an hour later, pressure was low, but water was clear. Early this afternoon a police officer came to our door with a notice from the water department saying we should boil water for the next 24 hours - exactly what I was thinking anyway.

All the excitement, I forgot it is
Stitchers Question of the Week day! The question is: How do you explain cross stitch to non-cross stitching people? Do they get it or do they say “Oh, right.. you do knitting then (or sewing, or needlepoint)"? A few do get it, or at least pretend to. Some, however, just don't get it no matter what I say. My father keeps calling it needlepoint because my mother and my aunt were into it in the 70's. I have explained the difference to him at least half a dozen times, and as far as he is concerned, it's needlepoint . I guess it doesn't make it any easier that nowadays needlepoint is being done with threads too, not just with yarn as before - not that this is something my father would know. Others I will patiently try to explain, all the while knowing that they aren't understanding - whether the concept or why anyone would do such a thing, I don't know. The hardest thing for people to understand, in my opinion, is how it is actually stitched. They can't seem to understand how you stitch the design on the fabric - they tend to think it is like STAMPED cross stitch (which most counted cross stitchers avidly hate) - and when you tell them you work off a chart onto blank fabric they look at you as if you were talking of alternate realities in parallel universes where there are green skies and blue grasses.

I have decided not to bring back what has been evacuated and just make do with what I have here for the next few days until I know what Ivan is going to do. I really don't want to think about Ivan, but it's a historically bad name to ignore. I am hoping that it will continue on a southerly track and die which is what happens when hurricanes continue south closer to the coast of South America. But if Ivan decides to go the "island hopping" route, I will be doing it all over again next weekend. I don't think I can handle the excitement again. Not this soon, at any rate. I am sooo EXHAUSTED!!!

Sunday, September 5, 2004

Back After Frances

As far as storm damage, there is nothing here to report except some widespread pruning of trees and palm trees. We were very lucky. We returned home Saturday after the 11am advisory showed that most of the dangerous weather had already passed to our north. We've had the power flicker since then, and a three-hour outage yesterday. Right now we are without water, the City of Hallandale has a recording saying they are working to repair a water main that was damaged during the hurricane. We have plenty of water to drink, so we should be okay.

Unfortunately, my computer was evacuated and I did not pick it up until late last night. I could have used a distraction from the relentless television coverage of Hurricane Frances. Since Thursday morning, on all local channels, is had been non-stop Frances coverage until last night. By Friday I was already sick of it, but had to watch to know what was happening.

I didn't manage to stitch much, despite my having all this "free" time, mainly because I was too worried to concentrate. I could stitch for a little while, but then had not desire to continue, or I would have to count over and over and over because my head was just too full to handle one more thing. I only kept one piece with me, the Sampler Gameboard and I stitched all of four squares in the past three days - and two of them had hardly any stitching to them. Well, I guess it's better than nothing.

Today I may bring my stuff back from where I evacuated it to and put everything back to where it was. I evacuated ALL my cross stitch stash and all my software and computer stuff, along with all photographs and important papers. Tells you what my priorities are.

So, my dear friends, thank you for all your kind thoughts and prayers. I am fine and should be back to posting regularly tomorrow.

Thursday, September 2, 2004

5 AM Update

I was hopeful last night that Hurricane Frances had gone a little towards the North and the forecast had it going north of Lake Okeechobee, but this morning they adjusted it back down again. Hurricane Andrew was supposedly headed for West Palm Beach, but it went to south to Homestead instead. Hurricane Charley was supposed to hit Tampa, but it went south to Punta Gorda and Fort Myers instead. You can never assume that any where south of a hurricane is out of danger. The only good thing about heading North is that one can always continue North, whereas there is nowhere to go if you head South. So today I will be packing up the car and leaving. All of you out there, stay safe.

Wednesday, September 1, 2004

High Anxiety

Looks like Blogger decided to be a bugger and eat my last post.

Hurricane watch is to be announced later tonight. The entire State of Florida is on a state of alert. They are calling for voluntary evacuations. No one really knows where the hurricane will hit and they won't really know until Friday morning, which is too late to be able to get out of the way for South Florida because the storm is over 500 miles long at this point and the last time we evacuated during Hurricane Andrew, it took 12 hours to drive 255 miles to Orlando. Anyone evacuating past tomorrow evening is nuts.

I will post again at 11.

Evacuations

I was told at 9am that voluntary evacuations were going to be called later in the afternoon, I quckly went and got a U-Haul truck. I don't know if the storm will hit, but I DO know that I will NOT be here for the party. The 11am forecast had Frances staying on course to hit the Lake, but I saw a 2pm map that has it turning more north at the Miami Herald's site, but they are not NOAA, so I don't trust it. I'm waiting for the 5pm update. This is the cost of living in Paradise.

Today's site of the day is
Simply Samplers: Sampler Motifs. They do a pretty good job of explaining what the different motifs mean in samplers.

You will forgive me if I leave now, I got other things on my mind.

On Pins and Needles

No, that's no pun. We are on a high state of alert due to Hurricane Frances. It seems each forecast they have issued in the past 24 hours brings its path further south, yesterday morning it was headed towards Jacksonville, this morning it is headed towards South Florida. The latest forecast has it gunning for Lake Okeechobee, which is less than 100 miles from here. The storm is over 250 miles wide. I already went through Hurricane Andrew in 1992. I was living in Cutler Ridge at the time and my house was totalled. I lived at the Deerfield Beach Resort from August to Thanksgiving. I don't want to go through that again, and I will probably leave the area, like I did last time, except this time, I will never return. Property values skyrocketed and insurance became prohibitive after Hurricane Andrew, and I can't even imagine what would happen if the area were to sustain another major hit.

Stephen is to fly in Friday night and now I am wondering if he will be able to. Probably not. Who the heck flies towards a hurricane anyway?

The inventory project continues. Latest chart count is at 1,293. Not done yet.

I will post the site of the day after I get to work - we have an early meeting and I got to be there a little before nine to prepare.