Filler

I'm sorry I haven't posted anything. I'm having laptop issues The power cable only charges the battery and powers the laptop when I have it shoved into place. It doesn't take long for my hand to cramp, so until my new cord arrives. I'm not doing much on my laptop (where my pictures are).

Remembrance Day

It's Remembrance Day. Do you have a poppy? I don't. I haven't seen any VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) or other folks around to get one. My boss printed one for me, but it's not the same.

I went to the Veterans Day ceremony this morning, at 11 am. It was cold and I sat on a stone wall. There was a mix of people; veterans, students, ROTC, military, etc. I cried.

I should post pictures, but I'm still triste from this morning.

I've had a cold. It's 2 weeks now. It started as a sore throat, caused by sinus drainage. A week ago Tuesday, it was a cough, so I went to the doctor. She confirmed that it was a cold and advised me about what palliatives to take. They've helped but I'm really sick of being sick.

Mace is this weekend, in High Point. I'm running Ironclaw (2nd edition) & a Pathfinder Society adventure (Perils of the Pirate Pact). I've signed up to run Spirit of the Century, too but no one has registered for that game. I don't feel prepared.

We took John J out for a much belated birthday supper on Saturday. He loves a good steak so we took him to one. It was expensive, but the steaks were -really- good. Too bad the steak fries were disappointing. The onion rings were okay, but nothing exceptional. The sweet potato casserole was very good and they had a nice selection of hot tea. However, while the teapot held two cups there was no way to keep the tea from continuing to steep the 2nd cup as you drank the 1st. I had the Jasmine pearl tea; and the 1st cup was great. The 2nd cup however was extraordinarily bitter and completely undrinkable. 

My State Fair entry got Honorable Mention

websites and my doily

Here's instructions for a little plush skull; great if you celebrate Dia de los Muertos. Or even if you just wish that you did.

And now you know why cannonballs are dangerous, especially when dredged up from the sea.

 Here's the unblocked, untrimmed heart doily; my entry for this year's State Fair. I still haven't found a presentation for it that I like.

I finished tatting a 2-color cross bookmark for my family reunion. But then I got a migraine right before leaving and didn't go.

I'm working on a burgundy cross bookmark; still Tatmom03's pattern, still perle 12. I'm using the thread from my doily. The 2-color uses the 2 outer colors from the doily; but no beads. As soon as I get my camera downloaded, I'll add those photos, too.

Siteseeing, Family Matters, and Games I Play

Do you sometimes feel awkward about people in wheelchairs or with service animals? Here's a serious, albeit sarcastic, etiquette guide.

Time to hit the local farmer's market this weekend. They're gathering food for the local food banks.


 I'm still looking for a frame/mat/something to display my heart doily. So far, no luck. I have Saturday, and that's about it. Cross your fingers that I'll find something suitable. Next weekend I'll be busy (no time for craft/etc shopping) and weekend after that the birthday and; State Fair preparations start (and oh, the entry is DUE).

I'm almost finished the cross bookmark that I'm taking to the family reunion on Sunday. There are door prizes and I try to tat something every time that I go. I will be the only representative of my granddaddy's line who'll be there (unless one of my cousins surprises me). My mom is with her older sisters celebrating the 80th birthday of the younger one this weekend. Of course, those cousins will be at their mom's party. My other cousins are out of state.

I volunteered a snowflake for a charity auction. I need to finish that, too. I swear, I didn't think about the deadlines or over extending myself.

The Dresden Files games were so much fun. We entertained ourselves, the Storyteller (or whatever the GM is called in that game) and the other players. There were 2 tables and the players mixed up some, so we didn't play with the same people all three games. In one game, our (C, R & I) sailors made friends with another PC who was very, very rich. He had an aspect (game-relevant descriptor) about 'wants to believe, but doesn't'. It was our PCs who 'broke' that aspect. I don't remember what we did, but I think it was when C's character put a glamour up to hide us as we broke into a house (to look for clues, nothing nefarious). Suddenly, Wayne (the character) couldn't see the other characters. Player sighed, picked up an eraser & started erasing and re-writing. Anyway, while riding in his limo, we suggested that he get a cannon. In the next game (though he was at a different table), he did! Our characters have a small cannon, complete with stone shot. No powder, though.

Oh, our characters? They're all sailors from the Flying Dutchman, stranded on shore leave. My character is the oldest; she's 250+. Yes, she remembers the political upheaval of the 1770's. I could go on, but there's a reason 'No, I don't want to hear about your character' is such a popular button.

I volunteered to run 3 games at Mace. I'm running one Ironclaw (either 1st or 2nd ed), 1 Spirit of the Century and 1 Pathfinder Society. But I'm being mightily tempted to run a 4th game; Hellcats & Hockeysticks. I blame the game's author.

Happy Sigh

I had a rocking time at Palmetto Tat Days! I made it to Anitra's house later than I had planned. My car key slipped off the key ring/fob and I spent half an hour or so looking for it. Chris finally found it just under my car on the passenger side.

I met Anitra's and Steve's new dog: Yoko. They have reason to believe that she had been abused in the past. Now they know something of the physical type of her abuser. She growled and barked at me whenever I was in sight; except for a few minutes when I was feeding her treats. She even snapped at me once. I just kept my distance from her, my presence obviously stressed her.

Anitra and I left early Thursday morning. I showed off my bracelet
I'd show you a picture if I could

That afternoon, as I looked for the bracelet, to show Martha, I couldn't find it. Anitra and I looked through my tatting gear, my bags, etc; even went through her car. There was no sign of it. I started a new bracelet with the thread that I had; variegated green with dark green beads.
(again, pictures won't load)
I found it Friday morning, with my jewelry. Bright side, I had one complete bracelet and one partial bracelet to show in class.

On the trip down, I finished my amulet bag. I just had to finish the neck cord; I put in a split ring to add a new thread when the thread on my shuttle ran out.

I took Erin H's onion ring guitar (there was more to the name, it was very Elvis, but I don't remember) class. I think I finally know how to do an onion ring. Yay me & Yay Erin. My guitar soundbox is rather floral rather than smoothly rounded.
(yep, still no picts)

I took Sharren M's Southern Star class. I was doing well and had almost finished one repeat when a knot unflipped and the Self-Closing Mock Ring was not so ring-like. I ended up retro-tatting. There's a floating ring so I'm not sure whether I should just start over. I had to put it aside to get some other projects done.

I did finish the thyme leaf pattern that was in our packets. I finished the green bracelet and started a bracelet from Martha's kit; navy blue with dark 'oil slick' beads.


The food was great, if not exactly low-cal. The scenery was lovely. The convention center was very close to the middle of nowhere, at least three times on the way there, Anitra & I thought that we might have missed the turn.

So Excited

Tonight I finish packing and stay at my friend's house overnight. In the morning, at some excessively early hour, we will leave for Toccoa, Georgia. Why are we going to Toccoa, Georgia? That's where the Palmetto Tat Days is being held this year. It's a longer drive so we have to leave earlier.

Last night, I started preparing. I loaded my shuttles for the two classes that I'm taking (I'm not worried about the two classes with which I am assisting) and one for the Friday night activities. I didn't get enough of my clothes packing done. I got the shirts, etc set aside, but my jeans weren't ready.

Last Sunday's game didn't really happen. Our home Forgotten Realms D&D campaign is going strong but one of the players hurt himself late Saturday and couldn't make it at the last minute. Since his character's nickname is 'Rail Gun' the GM had upgraded the combats to match. Frankly, the rest of our characters wouldn't survive them without him. Our tele-player (thank you Skype & um, whatever our on-line mapper is, I can't believe that I've forgotten the name) took off to get some errands done. The other player stuck around while C, R & I worked on Dresden Files characters. Yes, I play multiple role playing game systems. Don't get me wrong, I love my D&D (although 4th e will never be my best love), but I also enjoy other systems & settings.

They've almost finished our deck, only a few flourishes remain. Now if they'd finish replacing the damaged boards on the walls, I'd be even happier.

We got some much needed rain yesterday. And Hurricane Danielle is far out to the Atlantic and is not predicted to hit North America (not before Monday anyway) so it won't interfere with this weekend's plans.

Gaming, Tatting & Visiting Mom

We started creating/rolling our Traveller characters last night. With the Mongoose edition, you no longer run the risk of your character dying during the generational process, although mine did end up badly scarred. We were running late so the 'how our characters know each other' stuff is going to be handled over email. Ri & T are going to Dragoncon so we won't be playing in 2 weeks, instead we'll play in 3 weeks.

Mom's birthday was Saturday. I finally bought her present on Friday. I bought uniforms and school supplies for two girls in Afghanistan. Mom really likes that sort of gift; it doesn't add to her 'stuff' quotient. We had a nice visit. We hit the thrift shops and I found four pairs of pants for work. Of course, I forgot them at her house. *sigh*

I'm going to Palmetto Tat Days next weekend. I'm so excited. Plus, they asked me to be a teacher's assistant for a couple of the classes that I'm taking. More excitement. I've done the bracelet & it turned out fabulous (link is to a picture on flickr). I'm not as happy with the pendant that I made, but only because of poor color choice.

Here's a dragonfly that I spotted yesterday.


Oh, want to see some turn of the (19th) century pictures of Russia, in color? Go here.

Pictures, Finally

Because I've had a hard time loading them. I finally got the camera to work and to find the reader, now I can't get them to the blog; or anywhere else.

Here's the bookmark that I made for the literacy program at work. The pattern is by Karey Solomon, from an old Tatting Times. The thread is DMC size 12.

The bracelet that I made for my namesake. I bought a little bracelet with plastic beads for $1. I still have a few flowers left, but the rest of the round beads. The thread is perle 5, by Star. The pattern is my own, using Jane E's beaded picot method.

Bookmark, from DMC Book of Needlework. I made a slight error, the center chains are supposed to be twice as long and join in the center. I like it better this way. DMC size 12 perle.

Cross bookmark from Rebecca Jones's Complete Book of Tatting. Same thread.

Brief Note

Great weekend with some great gaming. Two sessions of Pathfinder on Saturday, with two brand new players (long time D&D players, but new to PFS). Home game on Sunday.

Bad stomach on Saturday, lingered through Sunday and visited again today. Bad headache today.

Read Black Dust Mambo by Adrian Phoenix and Death Masks by Jim Butcher. Should finish Blood Rites by Butcher by tonight. Still reading Dresden Files game book and tatting my lanyard for Palmetto Tat Days.

 

update (5/28/23) I had links to those books and to Palmetto Tatters Guild but Blogger flagged this post as spam or something. So I removed the links.

12 Pounds Down and Tatting

Okay, so maybe I'm bragging a little, but it's really nice to see my clothes fitting again. Except today's skirt. For some reason, the back zipper makes an 's' shape, like I have a tail stub poking my skirt.

I would post pictures, as I finally got my camera to work again. Except, I can't find my memory card reader.

Tatting:
Finished a bracelet for Namesake, but I think it's too small. It's blue perle 5 cotton with plastic flower beads.

I guess it will be a doll's bracelet. I made two DMC perle 12 ecru cross bookmarks, for a WWII vet and his companion (he's in his 80's, after all). The vet is a Navajo Codetalker and he's coming to talk at the Marine Corps League National meeting next week. I made a bookmark for UNC's adult literacy program (burgundy & mauve DMC perle 12).

Gaming:
I almost finished Spirit of the Century. I really like it. I want to run a session at Mace. Other game books that I've picked up: the second edition of Ironclaw, Dresden Files, Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies, and a gaming aid Eureka: 501 Adventure Plots to Inspire Game Masters.I want to run a game of Ironclaw, too but I haven't figure out which edition.

It was hard but I did it

I didn't go to the gym but I did get some exercise. I took a walk in a nice air conditioned building. And I did 5 minutes of a 10-minute cardio workout.

I still haven't found my paperclips *grumble*

Rosemary's game is Sunday. I need to do a character sheet for my character's cohort by then. He's an Awakened warhorse (given sentience), with two levels of fighter and two levels of barbarian. Cause a frothing horse is just fun.

I read Carol Burnett's autobiography/memoir. It was surprisingly interesting. It started a little slow and disjointed because it was simply a collection of her memories of childhood; with all of it's bit, pieces, good parts and bad parts. While she was quite honest about her family, she was pretty careful about not naming names in a negative way (except for stuff like Malcolm threw a rock at her kite and tore a hole in her school shoes).

I'm sorry that here haven't been any pictures but I think that there's something wrong with my camera. I tried new batteries but I need to try brand new ones instead of rechargeables before I give up completely.

Exercise and a contest for gamers

Here's the contest, if you play Pathfinder I think that you should at least take a look. I think that the project sounds very interesting and so does the project. They're using Kickstart to get the money to print the gamebooks. If I had the money, I'd go for the $500 pledge. As it is, I'm unreasonably tempted by the $100.

Exercise
Today was my  3rd day in a row at the gym. I'm handling the exercise better (I really like the newer bike; it has a place for bottle of water, my iPod and a fan built into it). However, my legs ache a little today.

Tatting
I started the bracelet last night. I was about to put the 1st bead on a picot and realized that I didn't have my coated paperclips. I cannot go further without at least one paperclip.

Gaming
Tonight's one of the last sessions of Mutants and Masterminds. In August, we theoretically start the Traveller game.

Movies and Used Bookstore

Movies
We went to see Despicable Me in 3D this weekend.  It was a really funny movie. I had heard good things and it lived up to what I heard. There was one little joke in the movie; very subtle. But from the laughs you could tell where the adults were sitting. Very few children would have gotten that joke.

We also saw an trailer for a movie that looks even better in 3D than in 2D. The one about the owls. In 3D it rocks; like Elvis Presley's hips.

Tatting
I finally finished the Angelica butterfly. I need to do some major blocking for it to look proper. I think I'm doing my lockjoins wrong or something. It won't lay flat.

I registered for Palmetto's. There went my money (what the car repair didn't take).

Used Bookstore
I took a bagful of books to the used bookstore. I spent some money, but took home fewer books than I took. I count that as a success. I got two of the Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson books, Five Red Herrings, a gamebook, and at least two others.

Gaming:
My Dresden Files game books came in (yes another place that my money went, but not nearly as expensive). I've almost finished reading Spirit of Century. I'm so tempted to run a 1 or 2-shot game now.

Viral Video and a Car Scare

Net Stuff
Do you know who Isaiah Mustafa is? If you watch TV, you probably do; even if you only know him as 'that Old Spice guy'. There's an entire YouTube channel devoted to his videos (including a wedding proposal and one supporting libraries).

Here's a parody of one, by New Spice guy. It's really, really funny.

Life Stuff
Last night, I met some friends and we went to see The Last Airbender movie. It's sort of obvious that they were squeezing an entire season of half-hour shows into 1 hr 45 minutes (including credits, I think). Certain characters were whitewashed, too which I found distracting. It's still not the worst movie that I've ever seen and the action sequences were entertaining.


When we got back to my friend's house, my car was no longer parked in front. All that I had with me: my journal, my tatting, my wallet, and my phone. My laptop, camera, work id, checkbook, house keys, and bus pass were all in the car. PANIC! Distress! Then Chris and I both spotted it, a couple houses down the street, on the other side and up on the curb. I checked it. All the doors were locked and the parking brake was on. It was not in gear and the brake was not pulled up to its fullest extent. My best guess? The brake didn't hold and it rolled to where it stopped. Here's the incredibly lucky part: no damage. The car is fine. It didn't hit the mailbox that it landed right next to. The only 'damage' was some crushed grass between the curb and the sidewalk. Blows me mind.

Ironically, I need to pay the property taxes on my car. Today probably. I plan to get my car inspected tomorrow.

Tatting Stuff
I've gotten more tatting done. I'm more than halfway through the Angelica second wing. It's going to require some major blocking.

I'm trying to decide what to make for my State Fair entry. Ideas: doily, necklace/bracelet, framed heart. I bought some DMC 12, three balls of coordinating colors and some coordinated seed beads last night from Lazy Daizy.

Weight Loss and Other Matters

Just about a month and a half ago a friend, upon my request, recommended that I try Spark People for my weight loss/health. In that time I've lost about eight pounds, 2 inches and gotten a lot more exercise.

I haven't been tatting like I would like to be. I misplaced my copy of the butterfly pattern and I had loaned out the book. No tatting that pattern until I found it. Plus, I would really like to make a couple more bracelets, for my niece and for my namesake.

I bought some new gaming books. I finally got a hardcopy of Spirit of the Century and I picked up one about Swashbucklers of the Seven Skies, plus the absolutely lovely fourth edition of the Legend of the Five Rings game. I also bought the PDF of the 2nd edition of Ironclaw. I'm alternating reading Ironclaw and Spirit.

I know that this is short and pictureless but I just wanted to get a post up.

Have You Said Thank You?

           This seemed appropriate for just after American Independence Day.

Tatting and Stuff

Remember Angelica? I gave up and started over. And then, a friend on InTatters asked for help with beaded tatting. Now I want to pull out some beads, my camera and do some tatting instructions for her.

Here's the phone case that I ordered. It arrived last week but I had to go to the Post Office to sign for it.

 

kuutydruk on Etsy made it. Isn't it purty.

And apparently someone went off the road last night. This is my bus stop sign

And I have to head home. It's going to take longer than normal because the road home is barricaded. There's a possible bomb been sighted.

Weekend of Gaming and a Movie

Saturday, we played another Pathfinder adventure. This one was part 4 of a story arc. The game was a lot of fun but somehow the 'I'd love to play on Saturday but my tatting group is meeting 1:30 - 4:30 & I want to go to that' got missed. I ended up missing the meeting entirely.

Sunday was Rosemary's game. Thanks to Chris's character getting a speak Undercommon language pearl, he was able to handle scouting the wizards' tower with minimal back up (mine & Mike's characters). The roleplay was so entertaining as he pulled the whole 'poor, put upon male' act to question the guards in the tower (including the 'do you think you'll have any openings here in a couple months?').

Saturday, after gaming, we went to see Knight and Day. It's not a great movie but there's some great dialog/banter and it's very entertaining. It has a lot of Hollywood physics, so if you want realistic action sequences, look elsewhere. I was expecting Cameron Diaz's character's name to be 'Day', though & it wasn't.

Tatting: I'm still tatting Angelica (from LadyShuttleMaker's book). I'm a good way into the 1st wing and I've noticed a problem a couple rings back. I've been toying with the questions: Open the 2 rings? Cut and add new threads? Start over? If I start over, I'm probably going to put it aside and make another bracelet. I really want to start anothe bracelet.

Where Did the Time Go?

Seriously, where did it go?

We went to see Iron Man 2 and Jonah Hex recently. Neither were ground-shakingly incredibe but both were enjoyable movies. IM2 was not quite as good as the first IM but it was acceptable. And Samuel L Jackson rocks at Nick Fury.

Tatting-wise: I got Sherry Pence's The Exquisite Collection of Tatted Butterflies. I made Seven, the 1st butterfly. I started to do it in navy but I ran out of thread after one wing. I went back and did the whole butterfly in navy and green. It's in three pieces; first you tat both wings & then the body joins them.

I started Angelica, the 2nd butterfly. It starts with the body and then the wings. I had gotten to the first wing and realized that I'd read the pattern wrong and would need to start again. I ran out of green (shuttle) thread anyway. That ball of size 20 green is getting quite small, by the way.

I gave Seven to Anne Claire (my mom's friend) in a letter that I sent today. Her mom passed away and I sent a sympathy card to Anne Claire and her husband. At least this time, I remembered to take a picture first.

I'm going to miss the Triangle Tatters meeting tomorrow. I've had plans all week that meant that I would show up towards the end, but then the plans got pushed and now I'm going to miss it entirely. I'll swing by Anitra's and loan her my butterfly book so everyone can drool over it without me. *deep pensive sigh*

Gaming: Mutants and Masterminds last night was great. I missed the last game because of my car breaking down. The GM just ran an 'annual.' That's a one-shot storyline that has no connection to continuity.

The session before that ended on a cliff hanger. Centurion, a hero back from the dead, who we suspected to be an extra-dimensional villainous version called Praetorian, stood up in the middle of the debriefing of our heroes' most recent adventure, said something nice and put a device in the middle of the table. When the heroes roused, it was just like waking up to any morning. Except: no one had any powers, Lady Celtic's revolving closet with her costumes was gone, was her magic circle, my character was living in the dorm instead of in her townhouse/temple and her technology inept self was late for computer class.

It was a great session as our characters tried to figure out where they were and how to get out. Chris was the one who found the key.

Third 'great weekend' Post

Last weekend (June 4th & 5th), I took off early from work on Friday and drove to see my mom. Her older sister is visiting so I got to visit with both of them. I drove home again Saturday afternoon.

This past weekend, we went to the DC area to visit Mike. We did it to see him again, to celebrate his recent work success (his company made a tremendous announcement last week, the reason he hasn't been able to talk about work for months) and his new girlfriend. We drove up Friday and she met us for supper at the Indian place that Mike likes so much (they have southern Indian food and their tv shows Indian music videos & movies). Crossed fingers that it works out for them.

Gaming: We played four games of Pathfinder. Each of us took a turn running. Chris went all out for this, "Mike-Con". He made badges for all of us, had con programs printed up and schedules for each of us. Plus, he had shirts available. Mike-Con: The ultimate in dining & gaming experience. The only disappointment was the free breakfast that the hotel provided. It wasn't absolutely horrible, but the less said the better.

Tatting: I started on the Tardis bookmark for Rosemary. I got all the way to the split chain and realized that I didn't remember how to do it. Since they charged for the internet access at the hotel, I wasn't going to look it up. I've made pretty good progress, though, if I do say so myself.

I have about 3 feet of navy blue edging. I'll try and post a picture later today.

Oh, and despite my less-than-healthy overall eating over the weekend and almost complete lack of exercise, I've lost 2.5 pounds in the last week. Yay!

Another Wonderful Weekend

It was a busy weekend, too. First, we had the "Yay, David Didn't Lose His Eyesight" movie marathon. We watched Support Your Local Sheriff, The Three Doctors, The Five Doctors and The Two Doctors. The last three were Doctor Who specials.

Sunday was Rosemary's game followed by going out for Indian food to celebrate the May birthdays.

Monday was a Pathfinder game followed up by a cookout. We spent literally hours, sitting around and talking. I haven't done that in ages.

Great Weekend

I drove down to White Oak Friday night. I left a little later than I'd planned but on the bright side, I didn't get lost this time. This is despite my TomTom telling me that no route existed to get to my destination. Liz gave me good directions and I wrote them out with a magic marker on notebook paper in really big letters. I knew it was going to be dark by the time I needed to look at the directions so I wanted something that I could see by streetlight.

The Living History weekend started earlier than the Heritage Day, so we got ready earlier. I washed my hair and immediately put it up. The water weight did make a difference but I managed to get it all to fit in the bun cover anyway.


There were more people and vendors at Harmony Hall this year. There was even one fellow who was a stonecarver.

I didn't get as many pictures as I'd planned. I completely missed, again, getting a picture of Liz's mom in her outfit. I barely caught Squirrel and Liz. Once again, no picture of me. I only got “Capt James Robeson” from the back. The gent in question is a descendant of the real Jim Robeson and was presenting a picture from the era, to Harmony Hall. He based his outfit on that same picture.

I got a lot of tatting done, but it didn't amount to much. I made a few butterflies and tried to some pieces from Beetons Book of Needlework. Translating from 1870 to modern tatting lingo is not as easy in some ways, and not as hard in others, as you'd expect. For example, on one motif, there's bare thread between flowers but modern tatters are more likely to tat a chain there.

I had planned to come home Saturday but I stayed a little to help Squirrel with the book of embroidery that I gave her. She took her first stitches. By the time that she was finished, I was suddenly exhausted. I left early Sunday morning.

I spotted a wild turkey alongside the road about the time that I got to I95. There wasn't much traffic until then, either. Despite TomTom not being able to find a route to Liz's parents' house, it could find the route home. It started raining when I hit I95 but it didn't get bad until I hit Raleigh. Then someone opened the floodgates. I was doing 50 in a 65 zone, with my hazard lights flashing. The flash ended by the time I got off the highway to go to David's.

I met the others at David's house. Richard was running chapter 5 of the Embers series (Living Forgotten Realms). I played my bladeling druid again. It's the last chapter until the level 11 special at Origins. Or maybe it's at Gencon.

After the game, Richard got out Maya's unicorn and, per a contest, I took a picture of the shirt that I'd won, with the unicorn wearing it. It's a large unicorn. It had a chain shirt, but that's disappeared.

Ow!

I tried pilates last night. I am not ready for that; unless there's a beginning pilates. I was fine for the first 15 minutes. After 20-25, I started feeling 'odd.' At 30 minutes, I just lay there and breathed. When the nausea kicked in, it got really unpleasant. I ended up having popcorn and sprite for supper. Not fun. It didn't hurt though, not until today.

At least I have Mutants & Masterminds to look forward to, tonight. I'll grab some Chinese food and head for the GM's house.

Mother's Day Report Plus Pathfinder Weekend

Mom loved her present. I printed out the certificate to make a card and added a mother's joke inside. The joke was The Mama Test: She enjoyed the joke and shared it with her sisters (Aunt Dot & Aunt Shirley, Aunt Carole couldn't make it).

Websites that I found interesting:
Oh, Random Pulp Fiction Titles website. These are reallyfunny. Perfect for Spirit of the Century

Here's a fantastic time lapse video of...um, that volcano in Iceland.

And an entertaining speech to high school graduates from Jaret Reddick's blog (Bowling for Soup).

Thrifting Kit (I like this idea, have to share with mom)

A great, fantastic post on one author's writing process

Funny shopping post: SHOPPING MAN. The sad/funny thing, my BF is a very good shopper.

New, less polluting ways, of making bricks are being developed. This one has a lot of potential, if they solve that pesky poisoning the groundwater problem.

Oooh, Oseberg ship. I'd vaguely heard of this. Now I want to learn more.

Ooh, giveaway for sewing, crafting stuff.

Gaming:
Pathfinder Society is retiring some year 0 adventures on the 24th. This past weekend, we got together and played three of them. Three of us ate (ran without playing it first) a module. We had a pretty good time. The only drawback that I had is that all of us had previously played, with those characters, together. We didn't do character introductions, which I have learned makes it a little harder for me to 'get into character.'

On the bright side, my druid is 7th level now & her tiger Blake has reached his full growth. Now I need for her to find/buy a collar of animal reduction. It's a lot easier to travel with a medium tiger than a large one.

Tatting:
Next weekend I'll be near Fayetteville on Saturday for Harmony Hall's Living History Weekend. I won't be there all weekend because frankly, it's too tiring. I drive down Friday night, after work. I'm there, tatting, on Saturday. I drive home Saturday night. It's usually hot and I'm in c. 1812 dress.

I've almost finished my bracelet. I only need to (locate and) add the findings.

Mother's Day Is Approaching

I've been torn about what to get my mother. On the one hand she doesn't need any more stuff, but I want to get her something. I suddenly remembered what I got her last year. This year, I bought her something similar; a clean childbirth kit for Burmese Midwives. I thought about getting a chicken or something from Heifers International but decided this was more 'motherly.'

Tatting: Using Jane Eborall's beaded picot instructions, I did a test of a bracelet design. I started with the plain rings on the left with simple split rings. At the 4th ring I added a bead on the picot, holding the picot 'open' with a paper clip. On the 6th picot, I did another one, but couldn't find another paperclip. I managed to use the same one.

I was too impatient to delay until I got more paperclips, so I doubled back and did the 'other' side of the bracelet. I made certain that the join worked and declared the test successful.

I've started the real bracelet now. I put a picot on the first ring; so I'll have a place to put the jump ring and fastener. I've also started single picot rings before I get to the point that I'll add beads. The bracelet will be assisted by the fact that I bought a pack of paperclips to hold the picots.

My scrunchy is on hold. I'll pick it up when I need some more brain dead tatting.

Platelets! I have donated!

Here's a tragic story. I hope it ends on a better note than it currently enjoys. When people take every legal step that they can and then have their wishes ignored...it's enough to make me chew nails and spit out tacks.

Want to knit your own Doctor Who scarf? This woman is a geek after my own heart.

I finally managed to donate platelets. Now I know, give up on donating in the morning. I need to have more food in my system, ie I need to do it after lunch.

Gaming Convention & stuff

The Siege, in Chattanooga, was fun. However, due to the rockfall that destroyed part of I40, we had to dip down to Atlanta, instead of driving there directly. Naturally, the trip was a bit longer as a result; but not too bad until a power line fell across both lanes in SC. We were stuck in one place for about 3 hours. Really, we didn't move more than 1/2 a mile.

It was great to see Diana & Colt again. I gave Diana the present I had not wanted to mail. It's a framed section of hieroglyphics and mailing glass like that makes me nervous. She liked it; even more she liked that seeing it had made me think of her.

Last night's Mutants & Masterminds game was combat-less. We explored the dome city and figured out what they were doing. Mostly, we talked about the upcoming Traveller game. David is wrapping up is M&M game and wants to run a Traveller adventure over the summer. After that, he wants to run a sort of Space 1889 Stargate game.

I was a little tired at the con, so I started a scrunchy. I've loaded the shuttle 4 times (3 times in the picture) and I'm only about 1/2 way around the elastic. I can't remember who came up with this pattern (I've given her credit elsewhere but I'm too tired to look it up) but I love it. It's just 2 rings and I can do it half-asleep.

One of my friends asked if I could make a bracelet using some beads that she has. I came up with a design, but I need to test it before I start using her beads. I'll make that my next project.

Here's a pretty picture. If I was more coherent, I'd post more, but I've been shorting myself sleep all week. It's caught up to me. Hard.

A Literary Cause & other stuff

Feel like helping someone read? Why not help fill the wish list for one, or both, of the high schools here.


After the complete lack of success at going to the gym on Friday (no gym shoes), I was quite relieved to go walking on Monday. Since the weather is so nice, I decided to enjoy it by walking outside. My walk got interrupted by some work stuff. I walked about 20 minutes, but it was not continuous.

Yesterday was more successful (no interruptions). I walked for 20 minutes before my arches started cramping quite painfully. I will stretch  more today & stick to the dirt paths. That seems to be better for my feet than the brick sidewalks. The scenery is better, too, as I was walking through an arboretum. I saw a few photographers, a couple other walkers, and some folks just enjoying the peace and quiet.

Promoting a cause, Gaming & Links

  Support rape crisis centers and enter to win an Advance Copy of Red Hood’s Revenge, by Jim C. Hines.
I'm a sucker for a good cause.

Gaming: Looking for some old school D&D fun? Here are some classic adventures, available for download.

I ran a 4th edition (D&D for those who aren't in the gaming community) last night at a FLGS (Friendly Local Game Store). I got there late, thanks to missing my bus. I started as quickly as possible as the mod looked like one that would run a little long. I was right, but managed to wrap things up 4.5 hours later, more or less.

I managed to bloody someone every combat, so I did my job. I challenged the PCs and gave them a fun game. We were well into the second combat when the warlock (woman seated next to me), finally managed to hit something. She needed some help, but she connected. I led a round of applause for her. It drew the attention of the other tables, especially the one in the next room that was playing the same adventure.

Crafts: Autobiographical tapestry (I bet you never thought you'd hear those words applied to anything this century)

Websites I found interesting:
I drool over this house
She posts a Gaelic phrase everyday on Twitter, & now she's offering a song on her blog
Know someone who loves photography? Then maybe you should get this book, Who Shot That?, about the photographers taht shot some of the most iconic photographs.
I watched this video & I'm still not sure that I believe it. It's mostly in German, but words are pretty much unnecessary. It's about 9 minutes long.
This is a really neat (& fairly easy) way to do watercolor stencils. She did a portrait, but I could see trying other scenes, too.

Lots of links and some pictures

Ouch, sad blast from the past. I was checking my email address book and saw the address of a deceased friend. Sudden, sad reminder of the fact that he's not on this plane anymore.

Oooh, contest to win books and stuff from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books.

This is an incredible idea and shows what two people can do and how they can change the lives of other people; one stove at a time.

Some geek soaps and stuff. Personally, I love the d20 soap on a rope.

Hey they have School House Rock on YouTube. Here's My Hero, Zero.

Chatty DM has a thoughtful and reasoned editorial about traitors in the geek population.
And another great editorial on racism in sci fi/fantasy. Take your time. Read the editorial and the links. It's worth it.

And here's before and after pictures of a bench.

BEFORE

A

AFTER

T

The bench as a whole

And here's my loot. First is one of the bags from dragonchow. It's stuffed full of sugarfree hard candies, to fight the drying effects of the pollen.

And here are the threads from LadyShuttleMaker. They are Plum Tickled, Raspberry Mousse, and Marina. All of them are size 20 cotton. You can see why I'm drooling, can't you.

Thank Goodnes It's...Tuesday?

It's hard coming back to work after a long weekend. And the weather was so beautiful. I would like to have seen more of it, but I started my spring cleaning. I've been so tired since October that not much got done. I started with the boxes that I saved for Christmas, 'to wrap presents.' We have a small bin and large rolling trashcan for recyclables (yay, no sorting). Even broken down, boxes take up a lot of room. By Monday, if I'd filled that bin full one more time, it would not have all gotten into the trashcan.

Tatting: I finished a couple of TotusMel's cameo pendant in that green. The second one turned out better than the first. That's not surprising, is it? Which do you think looks better, the round one or the ~oval one?

I started another one in red, but half way 'round the chain, the core thread is unraveling. I'm worried about it breaking, now. The thread is about perle 5 & very old (see the label? That company apparently went out of business in the 1940's). The color is 12505, sort of a Christmas red.

 See the threat? See how untwisted it is?

Here's what I do with the thread left on the shuttles. 

Gaming: We found where a loose end went at Thursday's M&M game. We just need to tie it off. The GM (David R) plans to wrap up the campaign this summer. Then he wants to run a short Traveller game. I haven't played Traveller since I was in college, or maybe high school.

And that's all, for now. Dun-dun-dun

TV, Gaming & Tatting

TV: I have now seen 2 episodes of the TV show Justified. For those who haven't seen it, or the ads for it, it's about a US Marshal who gets sent back to Kentucky, where he grew up. The reason he got sent there? He gave someone associated with a drug cartel 24 hours to get out of Miami. When the man showed no sign of doing so, he met the man at the restaurant where the 'gent' was eating. The man drew his gun and the Marshall, Raylin (sp) Gibbons shot him. “It was justified.”

After two episodes, I have to say, in my opinion, they have really captured the flavor of the south. The woman, tired of getting beat up by her husband who fixes his favorite meal and while he's eating, she pulls out his deer rifle and shot him. Maybe that happens in other part s of the country, but it seems really Southern to me.

Gaming: The Pathfinder GM screen that I ordered from Paizo arrived. Wow, that spud is sturdy. Pick up your average, glossy cover hardback book (you may have to go to a game store to find one). The GM screen is two hardback covers hinged, to make 4 pages of helpful charts and tables. The obverse side, the side facing the players, have the iconic character portraits from the core rulebook. I'm just trying to figure how geeky it is that I can name all but one of the character classes from sight alone.

Tatting and Reading: I tatted a single butterfly yesterday, because I was busy reading a mystery. I don't know if I like it yet. It's a PD James mystery. I like the tv movies made of her books, but I'm not certain that I like the book. Perhaps, I simply haven't read far enough.

I started another TotusMel cameo pendant. This time I'm using Red Heart size 20 in green. Considering my previous experience with this Red Heart thread, this might be an exercise in frustrations.

Gaming & Craft links

I manage to tear another nail today. Don't wince, it didn't go down into the quick. It's just 1/3 the length that it used to be.

I also finished (minus the charm/bead center) the TotusMel cameo pendant with beads.

Fun links
combat tracker for 4e D&D
A wonderful steampunk clothing vendor
Adopt a word site
transform an old book into a new journal
I found a great site with blank postcard templates & now I have lost it. Bummer.

And just cause, here's a cloudy dawn picture.

Great Weekend

I didn't get as much done as I would have liked but I did get a couple things done. What made it a great weekend was some fun gaming (D&D 4e, mini campaign thing) on Sunday and then taking Dave M out, quite belatedly, for his birthday. Plus, I finished that pair of grey wristlets that I started after Christmas.
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I made another Kiva loan today. This is my 8th one. Four of them are already repaid & two of the are about 80% repaid. I'm on two Kiva teams, UNC & eTatters.

Very interesting article for writers, on writing the Other (racial, ethnic, gender, etc).
Fantastic photographs of insects
These headbands look interesting & maybe they wouldn't tear my hair like so many headbands do.

And thanks to Craftzine, I'm collecting lots of neat projects.
Here's one for a fabric covered portfolio.
I never thought of this, an egg cozy; simple project & cute
Looking for new & unusual ways to wrap presents? I really like the woven magazine page wrap.
Light transmitting concrete? What will they think of next?

Tatting & scratchies (pictures)

Here's the edging that I did. I'm not happy with how it turned out. I think that if I don't join the points, it will look better. I didn't make those picots long enough. It's an antique pattern that I found on-line. Of course, now I can't find the link.

Here's the unfinished pendant, TotusMel's cameo pendant. It needs to be ironed/pressed and it needs the central bead.

I'm going to do this one again, in perle 5 again, same thread. But I'm going to add silver beads to the outside edge.

Oh, and here's a glimpse of my arm, the 1st day of the amoxicilin reaction. By the Wednesday, my BF was making redskin jokes.

Surprise! 2 posts in 1 week

Shocking, isn't it? I'm finding politics to be particularly distressing right now. But it's spring, flowers are blooming (too bad that includes the Bradford pear trees), the sun is shining warmly, and the days are longer.

I mailed my postcard today (the one that I mentioned yesterday). It's not a crafty one that I made myself, or one showing local sites or sights, but still it's a postcard. Maybe I'll send a second one that is local or crafty. If you have some postcards, just sitting around, gathering dust, try making a little notebook/journal out of them. I've made some of these and they are so cute. Here's two from postcards that I got in Williamsburg, Va. The first one uses a ribbon to tie the pages into place. The 2nd one is stapled.

I think I have a certain nerd's (or maybe his wife's) birthday present. I think she find this book helpful; based on the blog post.
Here's a couple crafty links
This one is for simple fabric flowers, add to shirts or make pins
Fold towels to make pockets (like at fancy hotels)

And this is just neat, English spoken in different accents

Gaming: I think that I'd like to read through this; it's a simple, cliche driven game system called RISUS
I love these dice bags

I've Been Sick

I swear, I had one month without illness since October. It's been one thing after another. I had viral bronchitis from October to January. I had a month of good health before I caught a nasty cold, that turned into a sinus infection. On day 8 of the anti-biotics I got an allergic reaction, or side effect, to the amoxicilin. It was a full-body rash, an itchy rash. My face and scalp were never affected and my palms and soles were the last to be affected. It could have been worse, I could have needed an epi-pen.

I finally got my hardcopy of the Pathfinder core rulebook. I also picked up a book for Chaosium Basic Roleplaying Game; Rome: The Life and Death of the Republic. I bought it for the historical information, etc, not so much for the game info.

I'm trying to write an entry for Obsidian Portal's latest contest. It's to do a write up for a joke game; HamSTARR 2099.

Speaking of contests, Isdihara is doing a giveaway on her blog, in honor of Tatting Day (April 1st). That prize looks scrumptious. And here's one that I'd like to enter (& give the prize to my namesake)

And if you have time in the next day or two, send a postcard to cheer up a girl after surgery.

Here's a book review of a book that intrigues me. It's about members of the SCA, Society for Creative Anachronism. The book is portraits, both photographic and essay/interview, of SCA members.

Assorted linkages
And here's a neat find on Etsy. I'm so tempted by this hosiery.
Ballad of GI Joe
Stone spheres of Costa Rica
Virtual Choir, on YouTube
Political (American politics, don't say I didn't warn): Open Letter to Conservatives (with links to proof, examples)

I have been doing a little tatting, but nothing that particularly thrills me. I'm so unhappy with my current edging that I'm just tatting until I empty the shuttles. Isn't that sad.

I've gotten a couple of lovely emails recently. I don't remember if I mentioned it, but I made a couple scarves for Operation Gratitude to send to military serving overseas, usually in Afghanistan & Iraq. The recipients emailed me a thank you. Isn't that great?! One of them is even from a town not far from where I grew up. Small world, huh?

I'll try to do some more catch up (and edit the last Friday vacation post that I did, complete with photos). But not today.

quick link to craft instructions

Want to teach a kid to weave but don't want to invest a fortune into buying a loom? Or want to try it yourself? Here's instructions on making a simple loom from some dowels and a clipboard.

Colorado Vacation - Excerpt 4

Excerpts from My Colorado Vacation - Day 4

21 July ‘08

6:40 am  Light breakfast in the HoJo library. I had their cinnamon (packaged) bun and my tea, Majestic Morning. I’ll be hungry later.

Met National Guard Army guys, during breakfast. They’re in OKC for Search and Rescue Training. Very nice guys.

7:30 am All packed and ready to load car. Laptop still exiting.

8:30 am Off to the Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. I took pictures of the mural on the western wall and of our hotel (HoJo0 from the museum parking lot.

1^st pictures inside: Triptych of Yellowstone. 1 to establish size, 1 for ‘close look’ of 1 of all three. There were more triptychs in the banquet/meeting room but a meeting was about to begin so I didn’t want to take too long taking pictures. If you looked at the center painting, ‘closely’ you could see two individuals on the overlook. I overheard someone pointing them out, otherwise I would never have noticed them. They were that small.

Into the gardens: otter sculpture “Ring of Bright Water”, tiny frogs, koi, koi, Buffalo Bill, water people statue (look for dragonflies on the spears), heron statue

I took pictures of the military officer’s dress helmet and great coat. I want to show Chris but without flash, I’m not certain how well the pictures turned out.

Parade saddle: I’d love to know how much it weighs.

Canyon Princess statue and End of the Trail.

Colonel Tim McCoy, early actor in Westerns. He was an actual Army Colonel c. WWI and was fluent in multiple Native American dialects. Early Westerns (pre-Depression) frequently had real Native Americans as extras, for realism. I learned this in the Westerns in Hollywoodand TV section of the museum.

I got a little lost in the Prix de West section. It was art/sensory overload.

~12:30 pm we had lunch at the Museum restaurant. I had shepherd’s pie and fruit salad, which was cut up fresh fruit. I decided against the buffet because I wanted a light lunch. Then the food was so good that I couldn’t stop eating.

At the gift shop I bought a couple shot glasses for R’s collection and a t-shirt and a couple pins for myself. I found nothing for for anyone else.

[sticker from museum: black silhouette of cowboy with yellow bandanna and belt buckle against yellow mountain silhouetted against royal blue sky, all next to ‘National Cowboy and; Western Heritage Museum’]

This is the sticker so that they knew that we had paid to tour the museum. If you were just going to the restaurant, you got a round green and gold sticker.

101F but it’s dry. That really does make a difference. For once ‘they say’ is true.

We left the museum ~1:30 pm and I napped. Dad woke me at 2 pm because the terrain had changed.

The wheat has been harvested. It’s very flat, more pastures with cattle or a dozen horses loose in the pastures. Lots & lots of sky.

And the state troopers use SUVs.

~2:30 pm We’re paralleling Route 66. I see a lot of streambeds, arroyos?, that are dry. Is there a drought or are they seasonal?

The grain silos are huge. They are more like silo complexes.

Before the Texas border, we passed a wind farm, big wind turbines. And a dust storm, or cloud, hit us, brief and orange.

2:45 pm I saw the 2^nd, or was it 3^rd, Cherokee Trading Post. It has gas $3.69.

Canute, OK

Gas stop

I saw a truck “soil farming” but it turned out that it was just the company name.

Clouds splatter across the sky like paint flung from a brush.

4:22 pm Crossed into Texas panhandle

Don’t  see any more farms, it’s ranches. There are fewer trees, a few clumps, but they are scattered.

4:25 pm

See a barn, or shed, with murals painted on the walls. Very pretty. Wish I could have gotten a picture.

Soon after, see my first longhorns in the field.

The travel center is 100 miles inside the border, near Amarillo. No welcome center. 1^st rest stops are picnic shelters only, no bathrooms.

At the first real shelter with facilities, we stopped. I took a panorama shot from the overlook. I also took pictures of the neat picnic shelters there.

They had a warning about rattlesnakes on the doors and about fires on the notice board. The interactive windmill exhibit was not active (couldn’t turn the display model) but it had neat info.

“Miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles.”

Texas highway speed signs have a day speed and a night speed.

Near Groom, TX (~exit 110)

Leaning water tower, used to be functioning. Made to advertise a now-defunct service station. Also saw a giant cross with a life-size Jesus Journey to Cross behind gift shop [looking back at my note, I remember the water tower and the giant cross but not the rest of that].

5:45 pm Finished 4^th round of doily, despite problems. I ran out of thread 3 rings too soon, etc.

6 pm Amarillo, Ritz Airport Plaza Hotel

The Texas Travel Center closed at 5 pm.

Dad’s not feeling well, upset stomach. About 7 pm, Kathy and I went to Big Texan for supper. Kathy and Dad went there the last time they went to Colorado. The restaurant’s claim to fame is their offer;  as home of the 72 oz steak, if you can finish the whole thing, plus fixings, in an hour, they’ll pay for the meal. They charge you ahead of time, so they refund your money. Some guy finished it with 10 seconds to spare when they were there last time.

No one was trying it while Kathy and I were there.  Certainly, we didn’t. We both had the 6 oz Austin Lady cut steak. Soooo good, steak sauce would have been a sacrilege.

We hit the gift shop. I found a perfect lunchbox tin for Gretchen. Yes, I am enabling her storage container addiction. But it’s such a cute tin, the perfect size for tatting.

We came back to the hotel room and I watched Hogan’s Heroes while catching up on email, etc. Dad was feeling a little with judicious application of ginger ale and crackers.

Hotel pro’s:

Wifi

Very good towels

Cons:

No iron in the room, had to ask for it

Breakfast had been canceled with no recompense

2 lamps unplugged (of 3)

Entry light almost burned out

Alarm clock not plugged and never found an outlet for it

Once a great hotel, lobby chandeliers are gorgeous. Gift shop was closed. It has an interior garden/atria but showing signs of neglect.

Weather & donating books

We've had almost an inch of rain since midnight. No wonder we have flash flood warnings.

Oh, here's where you can donate books for Haiti literacy.

I got to bed late after the game last night. Which is mildly ironic since we managed to negotiate our way out of the big fight. The bad guy was more of a criminal than a villain and we brokered a deal; he made reparations for the damage that he had done with his video game (player"s avatars were really commiting crimes by using solid light projections). He also had to work for the government as part of his parole. However, his assets would not be seized (he had made a fortune with his MMURPG), and the government would be sort of renting his technology insteado of seizing it. Kind of caught the GM (D) on the hop. He had to extemporize the next adventure.

Recent tatting:
Here's a snowflake. I wonder how long I had it on the shuttle, just one join from completion?

And here's the 'edging'.

It's a modified Hen and Chicks pattern. (okay, so the link goes to a tatted cross, but it's based on hen and chicks, too, a bit more obviously)

Speaking of tatting, here's a whole library of antique patterns. Before you buy that CD of old patterns, check to see if they are available for free.

Two things I want to try: a fabric note with envelope and a photo kaleidoscope.

And I want to buy some bags at wrapsacks.

Tonight is Mutants and Masterminds. We miss Troll and Kodachrome (same player, 2 different character; she retired the former to the city on the moon) and um, Captain Nightlight (not the hero's name; player got job whose hours interfered with the game). We did gain two new players. The Freedom League roster is now Lady Celtic (R), The Wraith (C), Totem (me), Dr. Marvelous (N), Fury (T), & Prometheus (R2). The last two are the new characters.

Shh, don't tell my SO, but I won a signed book from Jim Hines. I say don't tell him, because it's going to be his Valentine's Day present. We don't usually do the typical candy, flowers or jewelry. For example, the first Valentine's present that he gave me was a book on how to draw manga. I was so thrilled. Even in memory, it's an 'awwwwww' moment.

Book Trailer for contest

Over at Bitten By Books, they're talking to Chris Marie Green; who's written some interesting books.

Here's a book trailer for the latest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ReLmr6MYk8

Tatting, TV & a great Haiti essay

Tat It And See is done. Heeeeere's Norman: