Mondays...

Monday blues...you have to wonder what the week holds for you when you realize you left your coffee mug way upstairs when you are already way downstairs. But a Monday without coffee may as well be hell so it's best to trek up all the stairs and be late to work than sit in your cube under-caffeinated. Urgh...Monday.

I've been lacking a lot of drive lately. I've been feeling pretty tired since I came back from New York. No other symptoms...just tired. I have no idea what it is. It would be helpful if I could just go to sleep at a decent hour but I force myself not to fall asleep at 6pm (when I'm sleepy) to go to sleep at a more acceptable time but next thing I know, it's midnight! How's that happen?

My sister's visit came and went in the blink of an eye. She finally saw my apartment. Climbing my 50 steps is a daunting task to most everyone I know. I oftentimes get the "uh, I'll wait for you downstairs" response when people are meeting up with me. I get it...I've fallen off the gym bandwagon and my thighs are burning by the time I reach my doorstep. Apparently, I need to get back to the gym...stat! But it was a treat for me to have my sister in my very own space and see how I have it decorated and understand why it's my sanctuary. At least I get to visit with her in two weeks so it's only a short absence.

Stitching was slow considering...but I managed to stitch the "Needles" portion of the Traveling Stitcher.
All that is left is finishing both pieces to the pouch which makes me very apprehensive. How do I get them finished all pretty like in the picture by myself?! I think Mary Kathryn has a tutorial so I will be studying that and get to finishing it...but probably not until after Thanksgiving.

After putting the last stitch in "needles", I pulled out all my JCS ornie issues and ornie patterns and started planning which ornies I wanted to try to stitch before the end of the month. And then the threads. And then fabrics. And then I had a huge mess on my hands. As much as I like new starts, gethering all the supplies can be annoying. Missing overdyeds so I check my dmc and I'm missing those too. So I made a quick order and have to make a quick trip to Joann's to really get underway but I've made a decent start on an ornie. Ornies probably won't be shown though as I signed up for an exchange and will be going to my local stitching group's Christmas party so there are two ornie's I have to stitch up and finish(!) quickly. I wonder if I could stitch more...

My luck in blogland continues to run rampant. I won Robin's wonderful giveaway of some felted pumpkins. Thanks Robin! They will be a wonderful addition to my fall decorating. Here they sit with my etsy pumpkin and my TUSAL jar. The jar is getting more and more full. I love seeing the different colored orts and knowing what projects they came from!
I can't believe how fast time is flying! Before we know it, it will be Thanksgiving and the holiday shopping and decorating. Ergh...I'm not ready!

I've been fighting some massive kitten fever. It takes so much effort on my part to not stop in on the adoption annexes I pass by. Each time I do...I see a kitten I just fall in love with and I think about said kitten for days afterwards until I can assure myself that he/she's been adopted. I think I need to kitten-proof my apartment and look for a feline companion. It's a little nerve-wracking because I've never had a cat before. I would love to have a dog but that won't happen anytime soon so a cat is my only option for a pet. I just wish a cat would stay kitten size forever!

I'm hoping the next post will be my NY recap post. I managed to get pictures from my friend...now to edit them. I've been...uh...lazy about the editing part.

Until next time...

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! I hope everyone has a happy and fun sweet-filled day!

***

My thoughts are scattered today. I've been feeling like this a lot lately and it's not helped by being in the midst of my monthly pity party. I'm feeling quite sad and unappreciated. After housesitting for my parents for five months, all my dad could do is give me a hard time that I hadn't paid all the bills before they arrived. Seeing as I arrived from New York 27 hours before they did, I thought they could handle paying the two bills themselves seeing as they weren't even due for another 2 weeks. Five months of wasting gas, adding miles to my aging car, paying bills, watering the plants, making sure the house is ok, constant calls...and I don't even get a thank you. No consideration for the fact that I work and did this for them despite having my own problems and trying to mend and heal a broken heart. Or that I bought them groceries and stocked their fridge before I even stocked my own. I do not have the typical happy family relationship most people *seem* to have with theirs. Despite everything I do, it's never enough and I am always the "bad daughter" even though I am the only child that does anything to help. As my parents age and need more help, I don't want to be the one that does everything anymore. I don't want to make the tough decisions that will soon be necessary. Even if I were to make the decisions, I have parents that don't listen to a thing I say because I'm the "baby" and apparently stupid. They are both deaf as doorknobs and refuse to get hearing aids and I am so tired of yelling and repeating myself that I don't even talk to them if I don't have to. They don't understand that we would all be happier if they were to get the aids because we could all hear each other but they are too frugal. How much they miss out on life because they can't hear anything. How frustrated I get because when I do tell them a story, it gets terribly mangled because they only listen a little and then make up the rest on their own. I am so frustrated! I want to be able to live my life and experience all the things my older siblings have been able to because they've been free of the burden by moving away. Sometimes I feel that my parents decided to have another child so late in life so they would have someone to take care of them. It's been my role since I was a teenager. A stunted youth...no fun extracurricular activities like sports, hobbies, dating, boys, etc. I don't have much support from my brother who I feud with like you wouldn't imagine and acts like he is a 55 year old child who is king of the household and that everyone should be waiting on him and a sister that would help if she didn't live 1500 miles away. For years, I've thought of moving just to have a little more freedom despite my heart belonging to San Francisco. It's sad when you think about moving away to escape your family so that you can live with the freedom you believe you deserve. To be able to travel and have fun without constantly being questioned and being served a healthy portion of Catholic guilt for every little thing. *sigh*

***

Ok I had to get the sad, depressing part out of the way. Now for the fun part. It's heartwarming to know that when those in my real-life world have forgotten or disappointed me in some manner, my blogging family is out there thinking of me and sending me little rays of sunshine. I got some sweet packages recently. Meari read about my excursion to the Snoopy Museum and she sent me a Happy Birthday Peanuts book. It was fun to flip through! Thanks Meari.
And then Natasha sent me this fun overdyed skein of Happy Birthday floss by Ozark Sampler. How great is that...a color specifically called Happy Birthday! Thanks Natasha! I will have to find a spring project to use this for and it just screams spring to me. I love it when birthdays last all month long! haha

Despite stashing like mad at the Shepherd's Retreat, I couldn't let my birthday discount at Needlecraft Corner go to waste. Because you know...SALE is about as good a four letter word as CAKE. Here's my haul...

First 8 charts of the BBD Anniversaries of the Heart Series

And I also got The Drawn Thread's Almost Halloween, Kelmcott's Miniature Monogram Hornbook Margin Marker, Kelmcott Lace Scissors and a slew of CC, GAST, WDW threads. Most of the threads I purchased are for the BBD Anniversaries of the Heart Series and BBD Mystery Sampler with a couple of others tossed in for good measure.

I am hoping to start Anniversaries of the Heart in January and do one block per month. I just need to purchase fabric. I contacted R&R for 40 count Olde Towne Blend but they are out of it and the base fabric. If anyone knows a LNS that stocks 40 count R&R, can you let me know? Otherwise, I will have to decide between Lakeside Linens Meadow Rue or Exampler. I wonder if a trip to NiaH is on the horizon to help me decide...

***

After days of not stitching due to travel and housesitting running around, I got some good stitching time in. It helped that the weather was rainy and gloomy and there were baseball games to watch on tv at home. OMG, it felt wonderful! And due to my efforts, I finished the Traveling Stitcher!!
I'm stitching this as a SAL with Carol R. I wonder how far along she is now. She may be done too. I'm not totally finished though since I still need to finish the little "Needles" piece which should be fast going. I think I will try to start that tonight. I am tempted to start looking through my Christmas ornie patterns as I signed up for an exchange and may do another if my local stitching group will in fact have a Christmas get together. There are tons of ornies that I want to stitch. It's just the finishing part that trips me up.

***

One more question...is anyone doing NaBloPoMo? I'm debating...but I don't think I have it in me this year.

Well, I best be going. I'm supposed to be dress shopping. The baseball game starts in 4 hours so I should run errands and shop and then it's time for baseball and another round of "stitch-ass".

Happy Halloween everyone...be safe!

Until next time...

Beyond the Speed of Light

Time's still flying! The week and weekend has been a blur and I sit here typing trying to remember what I've even done. Let's see if my pictures remind me...

Ah ok...I'm starting to remember.

Mid-week, I received a package in the mail from Hazel. As luck would have it, I won her giveaway on my birthday! Talk about a wonderful surprise!
In the package, there were three English chocolate bars and a pretty wrapped bundle of three crocheted washclothes and a yummy smelling bar of soap. I can't wait to use them! Since I'm been running around like a chicken with her head cut off, I had to wait until Saturday to take a decent daylight photo. Do you know how hard it was to NOT eat one of those candy bars before then?! Oh so torturous! But I was good and I think I will be treating myself to the Crunchie tonight. Thank you so much Hazel! I love the washclothes, soap and treats.

Perhaps you can tell by the photo above that the giveaway items are sitting in a basket. There have been a lot of people moving out of my building. I have no idea why...it's a wonderful place to live. When people move out, they place things on the free table...sometimes, it's the free foyer depending on the amount of junk...er, I mean, stuff they leave behind. Late one evening, I came in and saw baskets stacked and saw this.
It was at the very bottom of the basket pile and I think I gasped. Longaberger? No...can't be. On the free table?!
Yep! Longaberger! I about ran up to my unit before someone came back changing their minds! It needs a little detailing but is in superb condition. I can envision a lot of seasonal pillows and ornies displayed in it, can't you?! I had better get my butt in gear and stitching some Spring/Easter, Halloween/Fall and Christmas/Winter. Um, I think this might be a multi-year project.

On Saturday, I missed out on going to the annual Pumpkin Festival. Woke up too late and if you leave after 8am, it's not worth sitting in traffic to get there as it's a one lane highway to get to the festival. So I found the pumpkin spirit and rang the day in with homemade pumpkin bread! Mmmm....I love pumpkin anything!
I only have about two slices left as I handed slices out to anyone I came across. As much as I love baking, it's dangerous for me to leave the treats in the house for long. Next thing I know, my pants don't fit! So a couple of slices for me and the rest is for sharing.

Claire and Andre also had their birthday on Saturday and I stopped by to drop off their presents. Amongst them was this.
Andre's Birth Sampler...one year later. Whew! At least it was done. I had a love/hate relationship with Newton and couldn't bear to even work on it so I had to come up with a fast substitute. Lizzie*Kate's Bless the Baby fit the bill. Of course, I sent it to Jill Rensel so she could fancy it up a little with her tremendous artistic ability and both Claire and I were very happy. Andre's 1...he was most happiest playing with the crumpled up wrapping paper! After the gift opening, we met up with Ann Marie for a lovely dinner at Wayfare Tavern. It involved interesting people watching, a couple of yummy chicken dishes (fried chicken was stellar) and breakfast for dinner as well as scrumptious carrot cake that made me feel like I finally had birthday cake worth writing about. It was a nice night out. Thanks AM!

Throughout the week, whatever minutes I had for stitching, I devoted to the Traveling Stitcher SAL with CarolR. I didn't want her to think I was a slacker! My progress has been slow though. But I've got my pink house, a fence, flower, tree and little stitcher girl done.
I'm going to work on the grass some tonight while watching the Giants beat (hope!) the Phillies.

This may be my last post for a bit. I am tying up loose ends before my trip to the Big Apple! I don't think I will have very much time to stitch seeing as I will be playing the part of tourist and I want to see everything! When I return, so do my parents and my housesitting duties finally come to an end but there will be some work involved getting them back up to speed and settled. I'll miss reading blogs, blogging and connecting with everyone but I'll try to catch up fast!

Hope you all enjoyed the weekend!

Until next time...

Fun, Fun, Fun! (Long and Photo Heavy)

I had so much fun! I met lots of wonderful ladies, shopped til I dropped, took some stitching classes, ate yummy food, was crafty, stitched my little heart out and just had a fabulously wonderful time. The Shepherd's Bush retreat was just plain awesome. Even more so was making new friends...I had a wonderful time hanging out with Katrina, Karin, Natalia and Sara (no blog)!

**ok, now is the time to get your cup of tea because this is going to be a long post...don't say you weren't warned**

Now it's time to play catch-up. Am I the last one to post about retreat?! I came home to 257 posts to catch up on...and I read each one because I couldn't bear to miss out on anything...and 110 work emails. And apparently some huge paper machine threw up all over my work desk! The heck?! Don't you wish you can freeze time a little so it's not so hard to catch up when you get back from vacation? Welcome back to reality, Valerie! Please beam me back to Utah...it was much calmer there.

On Wednesday, I got up at the crack of dawn to begin my journey to Utah. I landed, found my rental car and made it to Ogden in one piece. Thank you to whomever invented the GPS! First stop, Shepherd's Bush which was truly nirvana. It's a beautiful shop! It's cute and homey and just loaded full of treasures. They have a kabillion models and because they know you will fall in love with it, they even put small cuts of fabric nearby so you can just pick up the chart and fabric right there. They are amazingly organized! And the models go all the way up to the ceiling! You can just stand and crane your neck and take it all in. I would have taken pictures but imagine about 70 ladies crammed into a small shop. Shoot...there may have been more! I shopped until I dropped...had to sit down and have a lemonade break. While shopping, I met Terri, Deb, Jolene and Loraine. Right when I was going to step out to take a photo of the shop, there was this torrential downpour. Katrina, Karin and I waited it out and then ran to our next stop. Next stop...Jill Rensel's shop. Can I just say that besides being a wonderfully talented framer, Jill is also the sweetest person on earth? She had a treat table set up for retreat stragglers which included some of my favorite candy! We had a good chat and looked at all the beauties she had framed up that were awaiting their owners. She inspires me to stitch faster so that all the ideas in my head actually become a reality. After that, we had a little walk in the neighborhood, an early dinner and began the journey to Park City. Once there, I was so pooped I just collapsed into bed.

Having lived at sealevel all my life, suddenly being at 7000+ feet had me at a slight disadvantage. But luckily I was surrounded by savvy mountain-living people that they got me all up to speed on how to handle the altitude. I followed their instruction and was good to go. It was the first official day of retreat and we started it off with more shopping. OMG, there was so much cute stuff that I just couldn't resist! Trust me, I was *not* the only shopaholic there! I was in awe of how many people had the same idea at the same time and lo and behold...line! But the cool thing about standing in line is that you meet new people. I found out that there were Bay Area stitchers besides me at the retreat. I was starting to wonder! It was nice to meet Pam, Kim and Lara (all non-bloggers). We had a welcome project which was stitching your initial, finishing it as a button and placing it on these incredible project bags. Isn't it great?!

And a closeup...Karin helped me out in getting it into button form because she's a total pro! It came out great...I was so happy I think I did a little dance at the table!


Then we had a Simple Stitches project.
I didn't stitch on any class projects during class time because I wanted to do it at my own pace and not get flustered. So I worked on my Where My Heart Blooms instead. Well, Alma Allen saw me stitching on it and actually came up and talked to me about it. I practically fell out of my chair! Alma is so sweet and she has a terrific sense of humor! Actually, all the teachers at the retreat do too. Here's how WMHB looks like now. Still lots to do. Funny thing is that I don't do specialty stitches very often (as in almost never) so I had to write myself a cheat sheet.
So even though I've been blogging for what seems like forever but also no time at all, I really kind of think I write into the abyss. I know I have readers because some even comment! But the world is vast...but at the same time...small. So imagine my surprise when I discovered people were on the lookout for me because they knew I'd be at retreat! Wow! People actually know who I am! I met some lovely ladies like Tammy and Lancy (also non-bloggers). It was so nice to talk to them in between classes. They were both so friendly. There were a couple more but I've forgotten their names...but thank you for being on the lookout and saying hi! There was also Melissa who was my seatmate in the classes. Stitchers really are the friendliest people on the planet!

Here's a sneak peek of the class projects.

Jeanette Douglas:
Charland: Large Needlebook (closed)
Outside:
Inside:

Blackbird Designs:
I also took some pictures of past projects in the Blackbird Designs classroom...

It was great to see so many of their models and antique samplers in person!

And as I mentioned...I shopped! Here's a couple of photos of my stash haul.
I really like the new Shepherd's Bush stocking called Sadie. I liked it so much that I kitted it up. This is going to be *my* stocking...can't wait to start it.

And not only did I buy lots of new stash as shown above, Tina and Teri handed out extra little goodies throughout retreat. It was like christmas every single day. I am thankful I had an expandable suitcase otherwise I would have had to make the tough decision between bringing home stash or my trusty pillow! It would have had to be buh-bye pillow!
I had a wonderful time meeting such wonderful ladies. And a very special thank you to Katrina for being party..oh um...retreat planner extraordinaire! She allowed a total newbie, shy, quiet retreat goer (that's me) have a totally fantastic time! She told us what to expect and when to go running for that last "must have" pattern. Serious! Just imagine...she is holding fantastic pattern...where'd you get that...over there, hurry up, they're almost out! What? Almost out? But I need it! Seriously, at retreat, you need everything! Katrina also planned a special meal out each day which I totally appreciated. I am almost always the planner in my circle and it was so nice to have the retreat extras planned. I didn't have to worry about anything other than getting myself there and having a good time. And not only did I have a good time...I had a super fabulous time. Thank you to Katrina, Karin, Natalia and Sara for including me in your group. First retreat = success! Time to start saving those pennies for 2012!

***

And there's even more fun! I am doing a SAL with Carol R. on the LHN Travelling Stitcher starting October 1st. If you're interested in joining us, please let me know. This is a no stress, no blog SAL. Just stitch along and have fun. Here's what I will be using...called for threads on Lambswool.
*tap, tap, tap*

Is anyone still out there? Wow this was long! I got tired writing it. Be sure to read Katrina, Natalia, Terri and Deb's blogs(links above) because they all have updates on retreat with super fabulous pictures of things other than stitching! Yes, I know...there is such a thing but I had a one track mind apparently. If you are on the fence about the next retreat...just go! It was fabulous fun and apparently just what I needed. I was actually bouncy at work...on Monday! I think my co-workers were about to take my temperature and make sure I wasn't feverish and losing it!

I did return to another heatwave though. Hellloooo, sweet fog...where are you?!

Until next time...