My Beautiful City

A couple of weeks ago, *the boy* and I headed into the city to see the North Beach Columbus Day Parade and watch the Blue Angels. My amateur picturetaking did not capture essence the parade or the Blue Angels very well. The parade was interesting but both our tummies were complaining and we went off in search for food and grabbed slices at Golden Boy Pizza. Oh my, talk about yummy pizza! How come I've never been there before?! After finishing our slices, we raced to our viewing spot where we would watch the Blue Angels and here are the snaps I came away with. Below is a snap of the Transamerica Building, Financial District with the Bay Bridge in the background. The day was beautiful with nary a cloud in the sky!
And here is St. Peter and Paul Church in North Beach which sits on the edge of Washington Square. A truly beautiful church which looks even more stunning from the height we were at as you can see the San Francisco Bay with all the little boats out for a sail on a sunny day.
And even more boats out on the bay...and if you look really closely, you'll see Alcatraz to the far right...also known as "The Rock". If you ever take the night tour...it's super creepy being there after sunset.
And to the right is Coit Tower which does in fast look like a fire nozzle. Seems fitting to have this picture considering where I work. You can read more about the history of this tower here. The view from the hill is incredibly picturesque and the murals in the interior of the tower are true works of art.
And the only decent snap I actually captured of the Blue Angels. It's hard taking pictures of jets flying at lightening speed all over the Bay!! But if I got one decent one, I'm happy it's this one. You can see all six jets breaking their formation in a nosedive. Scary, yet amazing and beautiful. I'm glad to have battled the massive crowds to see these talented pilots in action.
And here ends my *show and tell* of a day in my beautiful city. My heart truly belongs to my hometown and I am happy to explore it (and act like a tourist) whatever chance I get!

Giftie for Claire

This past weekend, I went on a relaxing getaway with my dear friend, Claire. She's an October baby too so this was a quasi-birthday getaway as well. I decided to try my hand at making a floss ring tag using the cute kitty from Brittercup Designs. Claire is new to cross stitch and has been dying to have me take her to Needle in a Haystack so she could gt the supplies fort he Trick or Treat Kitty featured in the JCS Halloween Ornament issue. Since it was her birthday, I decided to get the supplies for the project as part of her birthday gift and attach all the threads to the Kitty floss ring tag. Here is the front and back of the floss ring tag to be. It was a quick stitch! On the back I stitched her name with the year and a couple of pink hearts.
Below is the finished product. I was very proud of myself! It was super easy to make thanks to the handy-dandy Crop-o-Dile I bought at Michael's recently. And the best thing is that Claire really liked it and loved her birthday present overall. Yay! That makes me happy!

28 ct. Mushroom Jazlyn
WDW Onyx and Hibiscus
Design: Brittercup Designs Kitty Freebie

May Blooms

As I promised long, long ago, here is a snap of my progress so far with the Bent Creek Snappers. I really enjoy working on this project as the small patterns give me quick gratification and sense of accomplishment. I finished *May Blooms* about a month ago but the picture has been stored on my camera since I no longer seem to have time to work on my computer at night anymore. The May Snapper is one of my favorites. Cute flowers in spring-like flowers! Here it is! Please excuse the icky snap though. I was too lazy to take the piece off the Q-Snaps since they are such a pain to put on as the fabric is super long. I have to tie up the excess fabric with yarn so that it doesn't get in my way while stitching! I've started *June Zooms* and it is slow moving. It's a denser pattern and not really one of my favorites although I like the expression of *June Zooms* and it meaning being a jetsetter. I wish I could be a jetsetter but I guess a girl can only dream...for now. Updated photo will be coming soon...

Giftie for Edgar

I finally dragged out my camera and just brought it to work with me this morning in the hopes that I could be productive in my *show and tell* and I discovered this photo. Wow, I am really behind on blogging!! I made this little quaker pinkeep for Edgar in celebration of his birthday at the beginning of October. Edgar's birthday is 3 days after mine so it was really easy to remember! Edgar likes all things quaker and pinkeeps which he calls pynkeepes so I decided to make him something within that realm. Along with the pinkeep, I included a tin of Altoid licorice mints because I remembered he said he liked licorice candy, as well as a skein of Crescent Colors overdyed floss in Camaoflage. Edgar sent me a nice email and thank you card to let me know how much he liked the giftie and extras. Yay!! Happy Birthday Edgar!

Pinkeep for Edgar
32 ct. Lakeside Linens Vintage Light Examplar
Crescent Colors Belle Soie Moss
Pattern: Gazette94

Busy but Happy

Hmm...I've probably lost the few readers I had since I've become pretty lax about blogging lately. Things have been very busy but I am incredibly happy...and tired. Things with *the boy* are going great! We've been enjoying each others' company and learning more about the other. I've played hooky and gone into the city to have a picnic on the lawn in Washington Square Park. We've gone to see Cake perform live for a Proposition H Benefit. We went to see Weezer at the local University stadium and whereas the surroundings and the crowd seemed strange, the music was steller! And we also saw the Blue Angels and some parts of the Columbus Day Parade in North Beach. He's introduced me to his friends in his old neighborhood and now I feel like I know them...not to mention the "six degrees of separation" moments we keep having. We are having a blast with each other and things would be completely perfect if he could only find a job and an apartment share. This downturn in the economy has thrown a wrench into things but I'm sure things will come together soon.

My stitching has suffered as I expected it would. I am trying to force myself to sit down and work on projects and *the boy* is very encouraging. He tells me I need to work on my projects and gets a kick out of watching me pull needle through thread. But things move slowly in between work, concerts, fun times with *the boy* and other obligations. I have no photos to show. But I promise to have lots to share next week. The only progress I've made is on a floss tag I am making for my friends' birthday. It's my first one and coming along nicely!

My weekend of relaxation has finally come and not a moment too soon! Claire and I are heading to Mendocino tomorrow. I can't wait!! The only things on the agenda are rest, relaxation, walks along the beach, maybe a little wine tasting, a massage, some reading and lots and lots of stitching!! Yay! My goals for the weekend are to get the stitching done for my christmas ornament exchange, a little giftie for *the boy* and June on my Snappers. If I can get that done, I will feel successful...if I get more stitching done, that will be icing on the cake! I also plan on taking a ton of pictures since I've been told Mendocino is incredibly scenic and beautiful.

So upon my return, be ready for stitchy pictures, Blue Angels pictures and scenic Mendocino pictures.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Halloween Exchange to Shay

I heard from Shay (no blog) that she received the HoE Halloween Exchange package I sent to her and that she liked the pinkeep and the goodies. Yay!! Following is a snap of the exchange (thanks to Shay's camera...woo!!) Since I had seen that Shay wasn't too into Halloween designs, I decided to go more traditional and stitched up JBW Designs Pumpkin in GAST Fragrant Cloves. I really liked how it came out and the backing fabric is of different pumpkins. I also included a fat quarter of orange fabby, a Sweet Nothings chart, some pins, a little stuffed pumpkin, some autumnal DMC threads and some chocolate peppermint Altoids. The ghosts in the background are from the Boo!! card I sent to her with my note. I love that card...the ghosts are super cute!!

And here is a close-up of the pinkeep itself. I was very happy to hear that Shay enjoyed it. I had fun putting it all together!

Spooky Exchange from Wendo Jo!

I am slowly catching up on my stitching news. I am very behind and just haven't managed to sit down at my computer and upload my own pictures in the evening so I am borrowing pictures from the folks who are so much more organized than me!

Last week, I received my HoE Halloween Exchange from Wendy Jo. Below is the full exchange she sent me and boy did she spoil me. She stitched up the Homespun elegance design from the recent JCS October 2008 issue and finished it into a pinkeep. This is sitting on my coffee table along with my Halloweenie floss tag from Carol S. Wendy Jo also researched on my wishlist and sent me the CCN Home Sweet Home chart and JBW Designs Autumn Harvest. Yay! Plus, there were some cute Halloween post-its, a couple of skeins of Crescent Colors overdyed floss and a baggie full of candy corn.

Here is a close up of the pinkeep. Very spooky! Thanks Wendy Jo! I loved all of it!

Birthday Surprise from Carol R.!

And as if getting a lovely giftie from Carol S. wasn't a great way to start off birthday festivities, I received a lovely package from Carol R. from the UK!. I was very excited to get that package and I tore into it immedately despite the insanely late hour and the good amount of celebratory cocktails I had that evening. Each thing I pulled out made me smile even wider in happiness and awe. I stole...oh, um...borrowed...the photo of the beautifully stitched and finished pincushion from Carol's blog. Isn't it lovely?! I'm in awe...must study and learn from Carol! She stitched both our names and the year along the perimeter sides of the little "box". I absolutely love it!!
And to make me even giddier and smilier, she included lots of goodies. I will have to update with a photo. There were some lovely swaroski pins and matching beaded scissor fob, some deep blue ribbon that will come in handy, a couple of cute little clips and some of the infamous floss tags that Carol makes herself with my name on one side and fluffy clouds on the other. What makes the floss tags even more special is that Carol told me she had take a picture of the sky from her English garden and that the clouds on the tags are printed from that photo. Wow! They are English clouds! Awesome!

And I must not forget to mention the lovely piecce of linen, backing fabric and very cute birthday card she sent me as well. I was so completely and totally spoiled. Carol, thank you for everything. It made my special day even more special.

Happy Birthday to me indeed! :)

Birthday Giftie from Carol S.

Since I am so completely behind in blogging and sending out my thanks to some very sweet people via the stitchy community, I am now resorting to picture stealing since I just have not had the chance to charge my camera battery and upload photos. I am sure they wont mind since I am seemingly a slacker and they are so "on the ball". I have a great excuse though...birthday festivities and the distraction of my guy's arrival to the Bay Area. Woohoo! It's much better when he is here versus 3,000 miles away.

Sweet Carol S. stitched up this cute and fun little Halloween floss tag and mailed it to me for my birthday! I love it and actually still have it out on my coffee table as Halloween decoration right now. I dug out the few Halloween decorations I have for my apartment over the weekend and felt that it should be displayed for the month of October. It's the first floss tag I've received and am now eager to try my hand at this finish!
Carol let me know that this was a Holly House Designs piece called Halloween Night. Very cute! Never heard of Holly House before... She also included some floss bobbins that will come in very handy. So sweet of her to remember my birthday when I made a passing comment on an exchange deadline falling on the day and how it will be easy for me to remember! Heck, the memory is the first thing to go...or so they say. At least I think that's what they said...

Thanks Carol! :)

Feliz Cumpleanos a Mi

Feliz Cumpleanos a Mi...
I am thirty-three...
I thank dad for good genes...
Happy Birthday to Me!!!!

:)

The Lowdown

Ok, so I'm back from smoggy Southern California and back in my little land of Fog. If I could hug fog, I totally would. I was told that I may be put in the loony bin if I went running around San Francisco trying to hug the fog. I suppose that may be true but considering how many crazies are in San Francisco anyways, I'd probably be ignored and labeled a crazy. No biggie! SoCal was fun and AM posted on her blog here and here about our eating adventures. Sweet Jesus...did we eat! I think I'm still trying to digest over here...one week later! It was nice hanging out with AM and seeing where she lived...finally!

I then had to put fun on the back burner in exchange for business and went to my conference. I was happy to see that the ratio was more like 75% men and 25% women. I was worried I would be one in a handful of girls. It's interesting being at a conference that is more geared towards men. There are a lot of men, there is a ton of food (gah! more food?!?!), sitting in between two guys in a small conference room can be claustraphobic because they take up too much space and there is a ton of drinking going on...after the conference, of course. I managed to take away from the conference which is a plus. It's awful to go to one of these things and them be a complete waste. But after an entire week in Southern California, I was excited to be back home. I wanted my own bed and my own pillow and my laptop and to have the freedom to stitch, watch tv and email when I wanted. Oh, and I missed the fog.

My stitching time has seriously been monopolized and I will be working very hard this week and weekend to get my Halloween exchange and other bits finished so they can go to their new homes. Travelling, housesitting and dating will definitely put some time constraints on anyone's schedule. I'm not complaining much though since I am in *happy dating mode*. This means that I talk to and/or (usually both) email my guy everyday. One of my coworkers said that I sounded like a teenager but if that's the only way you can talk to someone you're interested in, you're willing to chat via phone for hours on end. But I better check my phone bill. I may have overextended on my minutes by now...uh-oh! So things with the guy continue to go well. But it will be even better when he is back on my coast...in 11 days! Yay!

My parents are *finally* (!!!!!) coming back home on Friday. Double yay!! They've been gone 4 months and as much as they drive me bonkers, I miss having them nearby. Plus, no offense or anything, I will be ecstatic to relinquish my housesitting duties. Sheesh...taking care of a house is hard work and I can barely take care of my apartment which is only about one quarter of the size of my parents house. Oh yes, daunting task!

In 8 days, I will be turning one year older. I hate celebrating my birthday because I've been often disappointed on a day that is supposed to be special. So my plan is to go to work and to go to my exercise class and pretend that it's any other day. I already know that my co-workers will throw me a breakfast party which usually means it'll be an *eat all fricking day* party. We know how to eat at work and everyone knows I will eat breakfast no matter what time of day it is. That'll be nice and make it worth being at work on my birthday. Hardly seemed worth taking the day off since it falls on a Wednesday. If it was closer to the weekend, I'd make a deal about it and gone for a little getaway. And I already know that my mom will call me and sing me happy birthday on the phone. But the best part about the whole birthday is that three days later, my guy moves back to SF for good. Belated birthday present in a way...

Blogging will woefully be scarce as I'm still trying to work on gifts and pieces I can't show to you guys yet and will be preoccupied with my parents' arrival and then the arrival of my guy.

We Interrupt Regular Programming...

Oh yea...awful blogger!

It has been a crazy, fun, wonderful week but I'm hesitant to give details for fear of jinxing. I will say that I met a fantastic guy whom I've hit it off with after an exchange of about 100 emails over the last 6 weeks. I have no idea what will happen, if things will work or if/when I will see him again but this is the happiest I've been about dating in the past year and a half.

Of course, my stitching has now suffered but I am only working on exchanges and other bits that I can't show now anyways. I do still need to share a snap of my May Snapper but I keep forgetting to take a picture during the daytime since the light quality is so much better.

I will be leaving today for SoCal to visit with my dear friend, AM. She's lived down there for what, six years and this is my first time visiting her. We have foodie visits, a movie, shopping and chatter planned. It'll be fun! That will be the prelude to a four-day business conference near the happiest place on earth, Disneyland! I am doubtful I will make the trip to the theme park but if the inner child in me starts to throw a tantrum fit, it'll be close enough for me to hop on the shuttle and walk around. I will be sans computer while away so there will be no blogging or catching up on bloggers in the next week. Looks like I have my work cut out for me when I return!

Have a wonderful weekend and start to the week!

Who's Got Time for Blogging?!

Ugh, I've been a terrible blogger. My last real post was over a week ago! I am in awe that time flies by as fast as it does. I don't have much to say really. After my progress and mailing of my QFRR, I decided to do a bit of selfish stitching so I started and finished my May Snapper and will take a picture soon to share. I just started my Halloween exchange piece last night so that will be my focus this week followed by other small bits. Of course, that means that I can't share pictures of the exchange or bits so this site will be photo stingy for a while. Bear with me you guys...I swear I've got cool and pretty things to share! Just not right now.

The Labor Day weekend was a semi-relaxing and semi-productive blur. Lots of relaxing, stitching, shopping, craft organization, housesitting and chores and a perfect North Beach excursion on one of the clearest days in San Francisco this year so far. And of course, on that day, I forgot my camera at home! Gah! How could I let that happen?! I should know that despite living in the city and traversing its streets, it doesn't always look the same. Those slight differences make a huge effect. And seeing the Golden Gate Bridge on one side and the Bay Bridge on the other without a single cloud in the sky definitely makes an impression. Clear blue, cloudless and fogless days in this city are rare and anyone who gets to experience it is a lucky person. Labor Day tourists sure had a great treat this weekend with the weather and stellar picture taking conditions.

Other than that...typical workweek fare. Work, errands, chores, appointments and exercise class. Hardly thrilling. I'm a tad bored. Hopefully something...or someone...will capture my attention soon.

Don't Call Me Princess

More observations from the Boys Club. It's hard working with guys sometimes. Other times, it's the best thing. I like being immersed in the Boys Club. I think it's better than working in an organization full of women. There are women in my office and sometimes, we step on each other's toes but for the most part, we're ok with each other. No major cattyness or soap opera drama. I can't imagine that being the case in an office with more than the 5 women that we have now.

The guys, they call me names...kid, kiddo, sweetheart, dear, darling, girl. I like those names. Maybe because I don't have a boyfriend so I need to get my fill of pet names from somewhere? Hmm....don't know. But yesterday, one of the guys, called me princess and I just about jumped out of my skin. I've never liked the term "princess". I am *not* a princess! I think I don't like it because I relate it to being spoiled and taken care of and that's not me. I've worked since I was 14, I take care of myself and I never ask for help or money unless I'm in complete dire need of it. So I am not a princess. Ick!

If I could find a boy that will call me *sunshine*, I'd smile for days and be over the moon. Why can't I meet that guy?!

Quickie Post

I almost made my deadline. OMG, so close. Only one day late though...not too bad. I had issues trying to decide between 1 strand vs 2 strands of silk for the "Creme de Menthe" and I had to set this aside for a day or so to decide. I decided on 1 strand and boy am I really happy with it. Here is how my QFRR stands for now. I've completed my vine with the year, my "matchy-matchy" initials and a little bunny. Now I will send it off to Wendy so she can stitch her section and pass it round and round. Oh, sounds like such fun! I can't wait to get the next one I stitch on. And for some reason, I can't really figure out whose I get now but I guess that will be a surprise for me from the mailman! I love mail surprises!
Now that I don't have any QFRR obligations for the time being, I will focus on my May Snapper until the weekend. I think the weekend has a NiaH trip in store for me again. I need to get supplies for my Halloween exchange and other tidbits for the next month or so. That will keep me busy and of course means I can't share those details until received by the recipient. So I will try to keep the May Snapper going to at least show some stitchy progress.

But for now, I bid adieu. The very yummy petrole sole risotto I had for dinner is causing major food coma symptoms. I need to lie down and take a nap!

A Peek into the Boy's Club

The weekend is over and it's Monday...again. I seriously need to figure out how to hop onto that "work 4 days a week" bandwagon because only having two days off in a week, just about kills me. I need another day!

This weekend was "boy's club" weekend. For being a girl, I probably go out with and have more guy friends than girl friends. I work in a boy's club and I can be a smart-ass and a prankster with the best of them if I have to be. Maybe this is why I have so many guy friends? I don't know...would be nice to just find a guy to be a boyfriend already. But perhaps this is another reason for lack of boyfriend. I know too much. I know the games. I know what happened even when they haven't told me. I can sense it.

And because of this...I'm pretty good at taking care of myself in the crazy little world of online dating. Don't worry...my stamina for dating has decreased dramatically and I am sitting here waiting for my fairy godmother to show up already and wave her little wand and bring my Prince Charming to light. Hmmm...not likely but a nice thought.

Boy's Club weekend always contains a lot of interesting conversation which usually revolves around dating, relationships, who we know in common and how we've become friends in the first place. Dating and relationships are always topics in my conversation repertoire. Mainly because I have "girl insight" and way too much dating experience. The topics were particularly interesting this weekend.

Why do guys always find the most damaged, crazy mess of a girl to "fall in love" with and then wonder why things are so f-ed up? Anyone involved in drugs or a heavy alcohol consumer...run for the hills as fast as you can. Seriously, this will save anyone (guy or girl alike) a lot of time and heartache. Put your tennis shoes on and run...pretend you're in a track race. And then I have to hear how "girls are crazy". Ok, yes, there are a lot of crazy girls but not all girls are crazy! I'm not...quirky, maybe but not crazy. But see...I can't even defend my gender because I've come across a lot of crazy girls in my time and so I know girls are crazy just like guys are *insert adjective or noun here*.

Then there was trying to justify the difference between a date and a hook-up. I had to go a couple of rounds on this one and I still think I'm right. Guys can think what they want. And as usual, I had to have my usual conversation about how sometimes, dating within your age bracket is good and maybe the girls would be more responsible, non-crazy and together. No girl in their early 20's is all that responsible, sane or at all together. They are cute and crazy! Once you hit your 30's and 40's, I feel the maximum age difference should be no more than 10 years. Anymore than that and there are some major differences and that girl will be asking you who John Hughes is. Trust me...no one wants to feel that old!

Boy's Club weekend was fun though. How else can a girl hang out with guys, drink beer, bourbon and whiskey, swear a blue streak, eat what they want and argue the sides of dating and relationships? Plus, it gives me more guy insight. Girls can never have too much...

Ta-Da...April Snapper!

Last night, I worked diligently to get my April Snapper done and out of the way. I've got a few other stitching commitments on the horizon and I just wanted to leave this project at a clean point versus in the middle of the square. I like how these are coming out but I've seen the frog many times already and am getting annoyed. First with the border, then with the heart in February and I had to frog out some of the umbrella to get a decent contrast between the two blues there. I am hoping that the frog will hibernate for a while. Here is April:
And here is how it looks in it's entirety so far. Sorry for the messy snap. It really needs to be pressed but what's the point if it's only going to get *more* wrinkled down the road?!
Next on the stitching agenda is starting my Quaker Friendship Round Robin. Hopefully I can start tonight, but if not, definitely tomorrow. It should be a fast stitch and then I can get on with stitching up some Halloween fun and other bits!

Quiet Time and Mistaken Identity

This week is very quiet. No social fun on the calendar which is unlike me and whereas I find it strange, I'm not really interested in filling the quiet time with events and activities. The quiet time is nice and I could definitely use this time to get ahead on my stitching projects and obligations...not to mention the apartment projects I should have gotten to months ago. So the goal for tonight is to finish the April Snapper with border so I can start the Quaker Friendship Round Robin and get that on its way. I'll also start in on cleaning and organizing my office at home which has become the ultimate disaster area. Trust me...there are even more apartment projects after I get finished with this one.

But I do have to say that I know things are very quiet when the most exciting thing to happen so far this week is a funny little case of mistaken identity at the dentist's office yesterday. I was apprehensive about my appointment because the hygenist I had been assigned to the last three times must thrill in torturing me. Why else would I be gripping my hands and cringing so much during a cleaning. She likes torturing the patients. I'm sure of it! I requested a new hygenist and it was my first time visiting with her and I was so hoping she wasn't all into torturing patients too.

So I arrived at the dentist's office and the receptionist said that she would let Dr. H know that I was there. Hmmm. Confused. I had to clarify that I was not there to see Dr. H since I was Dr. L's patient. A little weird but she must have read the screen incorrectly. Then Dr. L mumbled that it was time to go into the exam area and whereas he said a name, I didn't really hear him but I was also the only person in the waiting room and of course, assumed it was me since who else was there? I get situated into the dental chair and Dr. L says "ok, we're going to remove the crown and scrape away the decay..." and I just about yelped and jumped out of the chair! "Um, Dr. L, I think you have me mistaken with someone else. I don't have a crown. I'm just here for a cleaning!" At that point I was thinking...I might be better off without the cleaning and maybe they could just write down that I did one and we can pretend like nothing weird happened. Because let me tell you, that crown business did not sound cool and I wanted no part of it! I turned around and I never saw Dr. L look more red. He was so embarrassed! It was pretty funny and he apologized and said he felt like a "tool". Ha! I haven't heard someone say "tool" in a very, very long time! Maybe now, he'll remember who I am? That would be nice.

And the new hygenist was a dream! No torture session, super gentle and I'll be going back to her. Plus...the best thing...no cavaties. :)

Stitchy Weekend

What a wonderful weekend! Lots of rest, some shopping, accomplishment on chores, massage, video viewing and stitching. Things are good.

Saturday was the highlight of the weekend. I headed to Alameda and met Sweet Mary of NiaH, before the shop opened, for breakfast. She is such a sweetheart with all sorts of crafty ideas. It was so nice to sit and chat when she wasn't working. The shop gets busy and she has to juggle lots of customers. After breakfast, we headed over the shop so I could pick fabric and floss for the Quaker Friendship Round Robin. Last week, Edgar asked me if I had any interest in joining since the group had a problem with one of the members and now needed a sixth. After just a slight episode of nervousness, I said "of course" and now I'm the sixth. It's kind of exciting. I've never done a round robin before but I like the idea of my piece traveling more than I get to and lots of people working on it and it being a work of friendship. Isn't that a nice thought? I think so. So Mary told me to pick 6 colors I like so I headed to the task at hand and gave them to her and then she picked a bunch of complimentary colors. Whoa, there were a lot of colors to pick from. Given many choices, my indecisive Libra trait really shines. *gulp* I had gone into the shop thinking reds or sage green. Next was comparing all the thread colors to fabrics. Oh God, more choices! I managed to set aside all the fabrics I thought were too dark and the threads that were a tad blah and was trying to decide between red/brown or green/gold. And here is what I decided on:

I will be stitching my QFRR on 36 count Lakeside Linens Vintage Light Examplar with Crescent Colors Belle Soie *Creme de Menthe* and Gloriana *Birch Brown*. I am thinking the green for the large motifs in the sampler and the brown (I say gold) for the smaller bits and initials. We'll see if I stay with the two-tone plan. Also in the picture are a lovely pair of scissors. I decided to treat myself to my first pair of Dovos. After hearing so many stitchers talking about their Dovos, I had to check out what they were talking about. Wow, these little scissors are fabulous! I never knew what I was missing out on. It was funny...after coming home and looking at the colors, they reminded me of the colors of my college alma mater. Ha! Very subconsious. So a little shout out. Go Dons! They'll all be starting school and sports soon.

The rest of Saturday was spent housesitting and doing about 4 loads of laundry and other little bits. Sunday was relaxing...massage appointment, going through a mountain of mail (ok, not so relaxing) and stitching. Below is my progress so far on my Bent Creek Snappers. I was really hoping to be done with April tonight but no dice. I'll keep plugging away at this until I get my QFRR chart. Just an umbrella, raindrops and accompanying border to crank out.
I hope everyone had a great weekend and has a smooth start to the workweek...

Where to Begin...

Whew...new blog template = much excitement! I've had a few days for the new look to sink in and I'm really happy with the work Lena did and highly recommend her. She's got lots of freebie blogger templates and is great to work with for customs too.

Now that I'm back to reality, I've realized that I'm very behind on the posts that I've built out in my head so I'll blog about what I consider are the highlights. Starting with last weekend...yep, old news but still good stuff. Last weekend was fairly social. I decided to hit the Burlingame Festival which was very nice. Lots of vendors, lots of food, not much of a crowd since I hit it early and I ran into one of my favorite jewelry vendors who I acquired my thumb ring from. She's great and when I told her that I was contemplating getting a spare, you know, in case something happens to the one I have, she burst into a fit of laughs. Hmmm, I guess that's weird. Apparently no one else thinks of having backups but when I find something I absolutely love that I use over and over again, I worry about wear out and not being able to find it when I want it. Ok, so a tad weird. I also ran into a coworker and his son at the festival and it was nice to visit and chat. That evening, I had decided to meet the "self-centered guy" from an earlier post. Just for coffee and a chat. He stated that he was just a guy who was bad at email and dealt better with one on one interaction. I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Initially, it was difficult...I found myself asking a million questions and nervously babbling to just keep the conversation going. Silences straight off the bat is not really all that good. Again, I was the one asking questions and really not having any asked of me. I was feeling like this meetup was a waste of time. But as the minutes ticked past, he seemed to be more comfortable, opened up and asked more about me. That was good but I still didn't have warm fuzzies. I have the feeling that him being touted as a "cute, sexy eligible geek" on national tv may have gone to his head some. Too much to be able to deal with a simple *blue collar* girl who loves life and fun. Things shouldn't be as hard as they end up being and for the present time, I'm just content emailing with a seemingly nice guy. I don't know where that'll take me but it's simple and it's fun.

On Sunday, I met up with an old friend, Lien. Old coworker and old friend who moved out to Austin for grad school. I hadn't seen her in over a year!! It was fantastic to see here. We went to one of our old haunts, ChaChaCha. Wow, it had been forever since I've been there! Although the food is decent at best, the highlight of this little establishment is their sangria and omg, it is so worth going there...unless I'm, of course, making it myself. So after a long boozy lunch filled with eyeopening news and tons of laughs, we walked around Haight Street to see what was new and what was old. And despite being so close to Ameoba (oh, the tension was palpable!), I did not go in and buy out half the store. After our little quest for shoes and shopping, we heading into the park to go to the DeYoung Museum to check out the Chihuly exhibit. Dale Chihuly is an exceptional artist no matter what the SF Chronicle wants to say. I've made special trips to Seattle and Tacoma specifically to view glass artists in action and to the Museum of Glass to see the Chihuly team work in the Hot Shop. Just because glass doesn't have a major following does not mean it is not art. I could totally rip into this reviewer. Apparently I am an admirer of "empty virtuosity" and glass sculptors have no place in the art world despite the fact that the subject at hand is seemingly unpliable yet fragile and that person works under extreme heat and stress to develop the right shape, color and density. I'd like to see that reviewer try to recreate anything that Chihuly or his team can make. And as we strolled through the museum and saw other exhibits consisting of traditional 1800, tribal, modern and some weird stuff made with rock sugar and shellac, I felt that the Chihuly exhibit was 100% more beautiful and inspiring than anything else in that museum. I mean, yes, the rock sugar shallac chandeliers were completely interesting but what the heck?! A tad bizarre, no? Each room in the Chihuly was filled with light and color, shape and beauty. It left me feeling a lot of wonder and inspiration and filled me with questions of how and what. I actually want to go back before the exhibit ends so that I can admire and perhaps answer some of my own questions. It is truly worth it, no matter what some "art critic" thinks.

And that was the extent of last weekend. Lien and I parted ways and it was back to my weekly grind.