Post-Christmas (sort of)

Sunday, I had Christmas lunch with C's family and R. Monday, C and I drove to my Dad's house and from there we went to my brother's house. I spent Saturday and Sunday morning wrapping while C cooked. I ran out of gift bags and ran to the dollar store to buy some more, and some wrapping tissue.

Oh, there's a 5-disc collection of 20 hours of African-American films, mostly dating from the 1920s and 30s. Here's an interview about it.

Here's a picture of the scarf I made for C's nephew. He loves it. He's even happier that it's machine-washable (Yay, acrylic). I did recommend he use a mesh bag so it doesn't get tangled up in the rest of the laundry. On his behalf, C asked me to make a matching neck gaiter. Glad I got that 3rd skein.

Here's the start of the neck gaiter I made for my brother, but I neglected to take a picture of the finished project. I've asked him to send me one. I did not sew on the buttons, since I wanted to fit it. I just left the buttons on the card and 'buttoned' it, after sewing around the buttonholes to stabilize them.

I made a lucky penny for my niece, too, but I neglected to get a photo of it. I also gave my SIL's sister and brother-in-law a snowflake I made. I thought I had a picture of it, but I don't. My niece likes her fuzzy fleece blanket and pottery state magnet with crystalline glaze. However, I forgot her calendar. Her fiance likes the corvette calendar C found. So that's good. Dad likes his military history calendar and we had a good laugh over the bobeches I gave K. I still haven't found the red necklace I bought for her. We told the story about her 2 bobeches from last year and 'oh no, her display has five candles.' Then she revealed she set out votives this year, about a dozen of them. Maybe I should make some votive candle frills next year. Bwahahaha.

I made my first ice drop. And the thread (vintage) broke as I was closing the last ring.

I've made one with green and white thread but I haven't taken a picture yet.

I have more wrapping to do. If anyone is interested, I'll talk about the presents I've received.

Places to Give for Christmas

If the news from Aleppo makes you weep and wonder what you can do, this link has links to groups working to alleviate suffering in the area (including Doctors Without Borders). Or you can give to the Red Cross. They can always use money and/or blood.  Maybe you'd like to do something for people in the US armed forces? Operation Gratitude sends care packages. Greater Good has Gifts That Give More, as well as 'click to donate' where sponsors give money to the charity for every click of the button.

Work has been slow. Slow enough that I've had old 1930s and '40s mystery/crime movies on YouTube. I watch them between phone calls and visitors. Some of them are pretty good (one had George Reeves as a train robber) and some are...okay. Some I skip because just...really? No. Some characters I just want to thump in the forehead until they're smarter.

I finished the lucky penny for my departing assistant.

And I'm making progress on my target of 90 hearts for the NC Regional Lace Day (for the goodie bags).

My idea for my brother's present fell through. And he's never told me if he likes the consumables I've gotten for him (beard stuff and Badger Balm anti-bug balm, etc). I'm having to think of something else. Quick. C found a corvette calendar for my niece's boyfriend. I was tatting a snowflake for my SIL's sister & BIL but the the thread broke. Do I tie and continue or start over. I was on the last round of a 3-round snowflake.

Knitting, Weather, and Gaming

My SO's (significant other) oldest nephew has joined the Peace Corps and he'll be leaving the country next year. He speaks Russian, so he'll probably go to Eastern Europe, somewhere. It's a teensy bit colder there than it is here, or so I've heard. Said nephew also neglected to send a Christmas wish list, so my SO got the bright idea to give him a scarf. But not just any scarf, a long, thick, handknitted scarf, by yours truly. On Saturday, I went to the craft store and bought some acrylic yarn. I have no idea how well the young man handles laundry and I thought it best not to take chances.

I pulled out one of my Knifty Knitter looms and got started that evening. After I finished prepping for the game I was running on Saturday. The part of the adventure is a bit open, so I got them to make some kind of decision so I only had to prep about 3 encounters. I had already pulled the figures I wanted and just needed to find a good map and review who and what they'd meet. I looked up any rules I didn't already have memorized and took some notes as reminders for those I'm a trifle shaky on.

yarn label

bulky yarn

I have BEGUN!

Progress is made

We were playing on Sunday, so we started a trifle later than usual. And our host found out, just before I arrived, that he had to be on a conference call mid-afternoon. Ah well. The game is also our excuse to gather and socialize, so the interruption was more annoying than tragic. During the game, they were fortunate with their saving throws (3 of them used their once per session re-rolls) and got through it okay. Only one person got badly injured although I think everyone took some damage at some point.

One character was about to be swallowed and in desperation he pulled out a vial of sleep poison. I told him to make a melee attack and if he succeeded he got it down the thing's gullet. He succeeded, so I made the saving throw for the creature. It needed a 4 or greater on d20 to ignore the poison. I rolled a 3. It fell asleep. That was the last encounter of the session and it made a good stopping point. It was the encounter where someone took the most damage.

We went out to eat barbecue afterwards. We wrapped up early enough to go out, even with the 10-year-old. We will get to play Mermaid Adventures with her again. Her father got sick and that canceled the last game.

I knitted while the one player was on his conference call and a bit before the game. I made some decent progress. Stockinette works up very fast.

I did some knitting at lunch yesterday, some last night, some this morning, some at lunch today and have almost 30 inches. My SO thought 5 feet would a good scarf length. I also used up one of the skeins of yarn. I made my 1st Russian join. (the link goes to a how-to video)

If you like tabletop and/or LARP games and know someone else who does, you can buy yourself and that other person a present, thanks to Epimas gifts. You purchase a game bundle (each one has a different set of games) and you get to download the PDFs now. On December 24th, your friend gets an email with download information.

The big winter blood drive was at work today, from 7:30 am - 1 pm. I went as soon as my desk coverage arrived, at 12:30 pm. Alas, they'd had technical difficulties and scheduled blood donors could expect a 2-hour wait. They weren't taking walk-ins at all. I guess I'll make an appointment at the local Red Cross then.

The weather has yo-yoed from warm, to really cold, to quite chill, to almost warm and by the end of the week it's supposed to hit 'quite cold' again. At least, it will be dry. The quite chill and almost warm were a trifle damp as the incoming warm front dumped its moisture, and gave me a migraine.

Here's a picture of my niece's lucky penny. I think it's too tight, so I cut that off and I'm going to do it again. I might also do one for my assistant who is leaving and her fiance. I just need to find pennies from the correct years.

lucky penny

I also signed up for a Secret Santa thing on-line. I got my 1st (maybe only) present. Look!

I've also played around some photo filters.

Projects, Websites, and Mom

Maybe it's the season, but I've been looking at clothing websites. There's the legging shop I mentioned in the last post (I ordered a pair from their sample shop to try them). There's also this one, which makes the clothes to measure, when you order them.

Then there's these undersleeves. I really want the jersey ones, the lace ones, and the bell lace ones; in black and ivory, maybe in white. I have at least 2 or 3 sleeveless shirt, a couple cap-sleeves shirts, and one or two dresses that these will work with.

I am working on pendant for my niece (she doesn't read my blog, so it's safe to talk about it). I'm tatting a bezel for a penny minted the year she was born. I have a moleskine 2017 planner for her, too. I'm using Diane's icy drops pattern.

I went to see Mom this past Sunday. It was not a good weather day and the drive back was horrendous. But we went to a used bookstore to get her a new dictionary. Her current one was pitiful; thin and large print. We got her a good one and a couple other books beside. I also delivered her jade plant. I'm still looking for a small aloe plant.

I wrote and mailed my Christmas cards. I don't think I got everyone but it was a good 1st batch. I got all my aunts, my one uncle, my Dad and stepmom, and responded to one card. I have finished much of my shopping. I just have a few things yet to pick up. Either that, or I've forgotten whole swathes of people.

I don't have any new pics to show, sorry. I have pictures of a couple tatting books I want and a business card for a place that might carry tatting supplies in the area. But I'm not sure anyone would find that of great interest.

And Now It's Over (for now)

Monday, there was frost on my windshield. Since then, it's been warm and almost rainy. We could use some rain. It's been dry to the west, drought conditions. The light rain we had helped control the wildfires, but it's still bad farther west, in Tennessee.

I'm still doing physical therapy. It's not cheap but it's helping.

Thursday, Dad and K met me for lunch. We went to Maggiano's They considered C invited, considered it implicit. I told them he preferred an explicit invitation. It was a lovely meal.

That evening, C fixed supper. Unable to get a non-frozen turkey, he made a roast beef instead. He also made mashed sweet potatoes, dressing, and mixed veggies (squash, zucchini, and okra). We finished the last of the leftovers Monday.

I braved Black Friday and picked up a couple things for mom. At least, I waited until mid-afternoon so most of the crowds were gone. I found a jade plant for her. I still need to find something to put in and also find her an aloe.

I picked up some plumber's tape to fix the faucet. It is mostly fixed. I had to use layers of tape. It was tape, test, tape, test, repeat, until the knobs caught and worked.

Our Pathfinder game on Saturday got canceled (one of the players could not make it, private stuff that I'm not going to blast over the internet). So I went to the Tatter's meeting instead. I made a snowflake for the exchange. I took a picture before the exchange but I haven't taken a picture of the one I got, yet.

















I'm also making another knit block, to try and make this rabbit. I know, I'm knitting just to make something else. But it's so cute.

Oh, and one of my friends pointed me towards this website. I've ordered a pair of leggings from the sample shop. We'll see how they work for me. They're expensive leggings, but if they're as good as the review I read promised, they'll be worth it. And there are so many cool designs (about 42 pages).  I'm thinking of designing my own, based on tatting.

So, That's What Winter Feels Like

Monday morning and this morning, there was frost on my windshield. If I'm going to drive to the park and ride, I'll need to build in some defrosting time. I decided to walk to the bus stop this morning.

I missed the Native American Heritage Day the NC Historical Museum. I got lost. I ended up having lunch in Cameron Village. Ah well.

Sunday, I went to see mom and take her shopping. She needed some odds and ends, like an alarm clock. She seemed to like the lined clogs I found for her and the warm socks. I took her the photo album with all the pics of some of my friends. I'll need some more, but it's a start. We stopped for lunch and I took a picture of her. I need to print it out and send to her sisters.

Mom

I finally finished the baby blanket block. I got it into the mail on Monday. It's made with love, not skill. But I posted a couple pictures of it and people were nice about it. It's the bamboo stitch.

bamboo stitch

bamboo stitch

This etsy artist has some lovely owl rings. I also like the butterfly earrings.











I've started keeping a bullet journal. It's helping. I put down a monthly to do list, a weekly to do list, and a weekly schedule. Plus, trying to track certain healthy habits; like sleep, exercise, etc. Mine isn't very fancy; no banners, etc, but it's working so far. I

Front of Journal

back of journal; with pen pocket strap

pen pocket on journal

Today is the anniversary of John Griffith London's death.

Freeze Warning...and now it's over

We actually had low temps in the 20s (Fahrenheit) this past weekend. And today the high was in the low to mid 60s. Yep, that's autumn in NC.

I'm still trying to get the photos off my iPad. I took some pictures for my Indie+ game jam entry and resorted to posting them to a private G+ list and pulling them from there. I wrote a game based on barbecue and kind of anime battle shojo. Sort of. It's a cross between a tabletop rpg and a dice game. The materials are easy, scrap paper or index cards, dice, writing implement, and imagination. I've posted the game and game contest rules at the end, so you don't have to read them unless you make an effort.

There's been a problem with a leak outside my office for more than a year. They patch it, they work on it, they patch the wall, and the leak reappears. The leak got really bad recently, to the point another office was flooded. Monday, they took a jackhammer to the hall floor. And I started the day with a migraine. The jackhammer and drill noises did not help. But migraine meds however, did.

Our Saturday Mermaids game got canceled. So C and I went to see Doctor Strange (not Dr. Strange) in 3D. We hit the matinee so it was a scoche cheaper. 

I've had my 1st follow-up physical therapy appointment. My next one is tomorrow. The 1st PT appointment is to set a baseline and course of treatment, so in some ways it doesn't count. I've been doing the stretches and exercises and ooof, my knee hurts.



Your Vinegar is no match for My Organic Vine-Ripened Heritage Tomato!
A game of battling barbecue chefs in a manga-style cooking contest, using a set of polyhedral dice, a minimum of three players, a pen, and an index card for each player. The number of dice will govern the number of rounds of play. Sample barbecue cuisines: Western NC, Eastern NC, Memphis, Kansas City, Texas, Vietnamese, Korean.

Each player writes what order they plan to roll their dice along one side of the index card and the other player names across the top. They can also write the name of their barbecue sauce on the back of the index card.

Example: Mary, John, Rich, and Joyce are playing and they decide to use the set of 6 polyhedral dice.

Mary's card has the name of her barbecue on the back and on the front she writes d4, d10, d8, d20, d12, and d6 down the left of the card. Across the top she writes John, Rich, and Joyce.


John's card – different die order


Each player chooses a barbecue variant and the challenge begins. The players can select who goes first is or they can roll for it. The players go in order of roll; highest goes first and lowest goes last.

The player opens with some aspect of their chosen barbecue (heat, sweetness, tartness, etc) and the other chef(s) counter with an aspect of their own.
Example; Mary: “Your sauce is no match for the heat of my Texas Swagger Barbecue!”
Rich: “Ha, your heat is no match for the sweet of my Memphis Morass Molasses.”
Joyce: Neither of you can possibly defeat my tart Vietnamese Phi Pho Phum!”
John: “And none of you can equal my savory Brazilian Bangkok Bites!”

This establishes the key notes and theme of each barbecue (which may or may not bear a resemblance to real barbecue recipes/cuisines). The players counter each others' ingredients, complete with grandiose titles. Recommended, each player has a maximum of two minutes to describe their ingredient. Other players make a note under the round's row and the player's name for the description they liked the best or they thought best fit the sauce's theme.

Example: Mary is making Texas Swagger Barbecue so she has that written on the back of her card. Her first ingredient is Ghost Town Ghost Peppers. John likes that description and think it fits both the heat aspect and the Texas theme.

They each roll a die. Each player writes down their result. They continue in rounds until every die size is used. Each vote for an ingredient gives a bonus to the die roll for that round.

Example: On the third round Joyce uses the ingredient Transparent Vietnamese Pho Noodles Cooked in Lemon Juice. John thinks it's a boring name but it fits the theme better than the others that round.

The one who wins the most rounds wins the game.

If there is tie, then have a tie-breaker: the secret ingredient round. Each tied player should take a few minutes to create and pitch their sauce's secret ingredient. The other player(s) vote on the best description

Variant: die size governs how long the player has to describe their ingredient, with the longer die giving the player more time.

Optional: write the down the ingredients, complete with grandiose descriptions and look at the resulting recipes.



Announcing

Indie+ Game Jam - Let’s Get Cooking!

This is a game Jam where the purpose is to make an RPG about Cooking.

Theme: You have to involve cooking in some fashion. Whether it’s a short game where you describe sumptuous feasts from prompts, a game where you pass recipes down generations, or an adventure game where you’re hunting down a rare ingredient for a dish in a dangerous locale - as long as it involves cooking in some fashion it’s good.

Specifications: You should have a complete game, aiming to be short (around 2 pages) but no longer than 4 pages in length.

Time: You will have 60 days to complete your project (final submissions are due midnight 11/13/2016 EST). If you are interested comment in the post below, and post in the Indie+ Community if you need help, ideas, or someone to try out your game!

How to submit: Post your entry in the Game Jam Entries category in the Indie+ community!

Purpose: Whatever you submit will be collected, and shared among all the creators, and put up as PWYW on DriveThruRPG with all profits being put forward to the IGDN scholarship fund.

Post Time Change malaise

Not to mention post-election malaise. I didn't support Trump (want to know why, check Politifact.com and Snopes.com) and now, thanks to the Electoral College mess, we're stuck with him for 4 years. Unless of course, he gets impeached because he's found guilty in one of the fraud cases he's involved in (I don't know how the civil case involving the accusation of rape of a 13-year old would affect him). Then we're stuck with Pence. A man who accepted being Trump's running mate, which says volumes about him.

My only consolation is that he didn't win the popular vote, so most voters opposed him. But when I check my social media on Wednesday and one friend is working on a 'safety plan' because she fears for her life (because she's one of the demonized marginalized groups) and another asks her husband not to wear the symbol of their membership of another marginalized group, well, I turned off my social media. I just kept crying and it's hard to do my job. As it is, I had an absolutely lovely migraine last night.

Oh, and the gubernatorial race is so close we don't know who won yet. And while HB2 nailed the coffin on McRory for me, I made my decision not to vote for him when he broke a post-election promise. The one promise that made me go 'okay, I'll give him a chance and see how he does.' I remember the days when not-my-candidate-wins meant a sigh and a 'well, the things I think are important aren't going to get attention for the next 4 years,' not fear. If McRory wins, I'll grit my teeth and gripe, but at least he (and his adherents) don't make me literally afraid.

Add to that, one of my beloved friends died on Monday and I found out on Tuesday. The funeral's on Friday and I won't be able to make it. And one of my student's is going to his grandmother's funeral on Friday. I've been using my coloring book stress relief hard.

I made a quick trip to see Mom on Sunday. I brought her a few things she's been wanting (emery boards, etc). It was a very short visit, but still.

I also stopped by to check on Carry's sheep. She was out of town and her usual sheep checkers were also out of town. I just gave them their supplemented feed and topped their water.

I wrote and mailed letters to the usual suspects (aunts, uncle, etc). Plus, I did some editing for a friend and wrote a couple short game entries. 

I would have included a couple pictures, but haven't managed to download them from my iPad.

Not Much Since Last Post

Okay, there was Halloween. My costume didn't work out like I'd hoped. Instead I wore a frilly blouse, black skirt, my burgundy boots, and garnet jewelry. Didn't exactly scream neo-Victorian, or even costume. Ah well.

We got eight trick or treaters this year. Less than our record twelve, but a respectable number. We had one Gabby Douglas (she was FloJo last year), one rainbow unicorn amethyst gem (and her costumed mom), two '50's belles, and a quartet composed of Ironman, Black Widow, a UNC football player, and death. We had quite a bit of chocolate left, so I took it to work. 

On the other hand, my iPad photo app put out some fun filters.

blue cat eye

spooky mirror

lightning

I don't know, but it's cool

And here are my State Fair entries (it's only one bobeche, but they're identical).

I completed one of the baby booties. It was a struggle.

Oops, I forgot

In my defense, it's fair season, plus I have 2 birthdays to celebrate, and Halloween to prep. I get a little crazy this time of year.

In addition, I made medical appointments I've been putting off while I took care of mom. Good news, my knee issue is not anything major. I just need to see a sports injury expert to set up some physical therapy and up my dose of OTC painkillers to keep the inflammation down. I also had my mammogram. And follow-up mammogram (thanks, mom, for the dense, hard to read tissue; OTOH, I'm staying pretty perky into middle age).

I still need to make my next tooth issue appointment. But that's going to wait until Monday.

I've started keeping a bullet journal and I bought a pen pocket. I got tired of digging for a pen every time I wanted to note something. Plus, I got a set of colored pens, so I can color code stuff. I've taken pictures but I haven't downloaded them yet.

I still don't have pictures of my entries yet. I'll take some at the Tri-tatters meeting tomorrow.

I do have pictures of some of the other entries. Having a bum knee cut my tour of the Fair early. I didn't look at the entries as much as I usually do.

I like what she did

She does such lovely doilies

definitely blue ribbon material

You can barely see Carolyn's edging

It's Almost Fair Time

First, yes, I survived Matthew just fine. I'm far enough inland and uphill that flooding wasn't much of concern for me. We lost power, but very briefly. It was long enough for everything to need to be reset and rebooted, but that's all.

Last Thursday was our Deadlands game. The last one was cancelled and I missed the one before that (Palmetto Tat Days). They caught me up on what had happened while I was out and then we handled what my character had been doing while she was separated. The son of one of the players came again so he got the same NPC and he went with my character. Our characters are reunited and after months of play time we've gotten past that one day of game time (June 16, 1879).

Friday afternoon, I went for my mammogram. Ouch. Apparently, I have 'dense flesh.' Part of that genetics so I need to tell mom that I blame her for my pain on Friday. 

Friday night, we took JJ out for his birthday at Kanki. His birthday was Saturday but with Matthew coming, we went to supper on Friday instead. It was a good idea. We had a nice time and JJ was interested in the books we got him (1st three of Theirs Not to Reason Why). He's reading the later written prequel already.


I was going to go take my entries to the Fair on Saturday but decided I could wait. And since I spent last weekend emptying mom's apartment, I didn't get the time to prep to run Tears at Bitter Manor on Sunday so I cancelled. I took my entries to the Fair on Sunday, just before 5 pm. I got one of them in but not the other so I had to go back Monday. I called my boss and got the okay to go to work late on Monday to get it done. Traffic to Raleigh is very bad in the mornings; I'm glad that's not my commute.

It's much cooler this week and I pulled out the hand knit shawl I got from Autumn Breeze Designs. Yesterday it was enough, today I added a jacket. Yes, I know that post I linked to is old; she's still around and selling her yarns, patterns, etc.

At least the post-hurricane weather is very pretty. It's clear and chillier, so maybe the ground will have a chance to dry before the fair. 

I survived

Mom's apartment is now vacant. She had two bedrooms, each with a walk in closet of clothes, plus a free standing rack of clothes, and a small coat closet. Since my mom stopped wearing uniforms, she became a bit of a clothes horse. CC, Mom, and I culled her wardrobe, but more still needs to be done. I am not sure all of her clothes will fit into her closet, plus drawers, plus glass front cabinet (for sweaters and such, so they are protected but visible. Drawers are for things she doesn't need to keep an eye on to remember, ie underwear and socks.

CD came and helped me move big stuff, like her couch to Goodwill, and her two glass front shelves and sewing table to her new room. Plus, a small set of metal shelves (which she's using to hold and display her scarves in her bedroom) and a rolling chair (for her sewing table). He also helped me take stuff to the dumpster, along with JJ. We left about 11 pm Sunday, exhausted. I'm still aching a bit. CC helped me on Saturday to pack stuff to deliver to Goodwill. Yesterday, I took the last load to the local one.

 I'm aching now. Plus, my already sore knee really hates me. At least it waited until Monday to start screaming at me.

Instead of spending the day demonstrating tatting at Oakview Historic Park, and finishing my projects, I was clearing mom's apartment. That's delayed things for me. I still have stuff to do before Saturday.

I'll post pictures after the State Fair starts. I may not get my 3rd project finished.

Tonight is my date with CC, so I'll return her dolly and a couple things she loaned me. She had to be home on Sunday to do her Fair prep.

Last night, I finally got enough sleep. I've been stressing about mom's apartment since August. And it's gotten worse as the end of the lease approached. I found multiple cases of purchases that I think were there because she remembered she needed something, but not that she already had it. For example, a red blouse.

Here, have a semi-amusing article about a crow stealing evidence from a crime scene.

Checking in

Lots of stuff happening. I should post, but I'm tired and stressed. All you get is a 'I'm still alive.' And I'm tatting. And working. And stuff.

My Laptop Is Alive and Healthy Again

The evening of August 20th, a day that will live in infamy. For me, anyway. I was searching for a fillable 3rd ed Shadowrun character sheet and I hit a....bad link. My laptop was infected. I went through and deleted everything that had downloaded. It was too late. I had adware, badly written ransomware, and a trojan. I tried downloading anti-virus software my friend recommended (Avast) but it was infected; it interfered with my ability to get online. The ransomware put up a fake blue screen of death, but that didn't take long to ignore and fix.

The trojan was harder to get rid of. I spent 2 weeks trying and finally took it to a computer shop to get it cleaned. It was not cheap but at least it's functional again. I missed the rest of RPGAday. Oh well.

Yes, I should try to recount what happened over those three weeks, but frankly, I can't remember. That's why I keep a journal. I did Jane Eborall's New Moon twice, or almost. I messed up on one (in purple thread) and decided to keep the mistake as 'do as I say, not as I do.' I did it again in orange-red thread. I tatted Nina Libin's split ring jewelry set I. Once in red metallic (oren bayak?) and once in silver thread Nina provided. Such a pretty pattern. I went to a tatting meeting. I tried a demo

CD and I went shopping at the same time I dropped off my laptop. He found a couple of very nice shoes for me. One of them didn't fit so we had them check. Another store had them in the (possibly) correct size. The next day however, it was off to do stuff for my mom.

Wednesday, it was errands (like picking up my laptop) and a dentist visit. I did laundry and packed for Palmetto Tat days.  Our new washing machine takes longer than our old one. I didn't take that into account.

I left early Thursday morning to get Anitra and we drove to Georgia. We took my car because her car AC died. We stopped at lunch and I took a call regarding mom's insurance. I'm glad it came while I was at lunch because it was a long phone call.

We knew about two construction zones and planned our timing to accommodate the delays. The other two work zones came as a surprise though. We got to Tat Days about 10 minutes before the teachers and aides meeting. We went right to it, not even enough time to register.

After, we registered, took a load out of the car and went to supper. After supper, we got another load of stuff out of the car. We had both packed fairly lightly. We had a suitcase each, a tatting bag each, and some stuff for the swag table.

We tried the bobble pattern. I finally understand the rib method for 3d tatting. I need to try that pattern again. I used size 20 thread and the button really needs size 10 thread. I bought some thread from the vendor and promptly lost it (I spent all weekend thinking it was lost in the bottom of my bag).

The lady who won the vintage tatting spread last year brought it back, sewn onto a quilt. This looks fantastic doesn't it? The podium is included for size comparison, then a closer look at the the quilt and a close up of a motif.

Friday, I spent every break making phone calls. I was scheduling movers to get the furniture out of mom's apartment and to her new one. It wasn't easy.I never got a chance to go to the vending room. I did manage to drop off my stuff for the silent auction. I gave some duplicate thread and tins.

I helped Nina with her class in the morning. She had 3 assistants, so each of us could help people at each table. The individual focus really helps. I'd managed to leave my Nina thread sample at home, so I quickly tatted up one earring Thursday night.

Friday afternoon, I assisted Jane. There were one remarkable tatter. She hadn't known how to tat before the weekend started and came into the class not knowing how to make rings. But she already knew how to make split rings.

As usual, one picture (at least) of the lake outside the dining hall.

The banquet was Friday night. As usual, there was great fun. There were two colored handbells on each table. Volunteers went up and Donna T held up flashcards. I was one of the people from our table. Then I handed off my bell to someone I didn't know. I figured we could talk later and it would be a nice ice breaker/conversation starter.

The live auction was after and I didn't buy anything. The things I like went out of my reach fairly quickly. Oh well, at least the charity benefited. 

Saturday morning, I was taking the rocket ship with Richard E. He's a new teacher at Tat Days. I'm glad it was a two session class. None of the techniques were new to me, but I had a brain hiccup and could not remember how to make pearl tatting. He had to show me.

A few auction items had gotten mislaid so they had a second live auction. I managed to snag a crochet hook in a pen tube. Instead of an inkpen, a crochet hook emerges. I also managed to get one of Marie Smith's beaded shuttle bags. I got it early, before other folks woke up or warmed up. And yes, I danced in my seat.

After the auction, Georgia wiped her forehead with a cotton hankie. Sort of as a joke, one of the Palmetto Tatters bid $1 for the hankie. I bid $2. Georgia pulled out her beginner kits; which have a hankie, a small shuttle, a cluny shuttle, etc. We paid her and she distributed them.

Saturday afternoon, I took a simple class. Sherry P taught how to make a flower hair clip. I finished it in class; the only project I finished this weekend. Other than Karey's early bird magic decoder ring class.

I also picked up my sole win from the silent auction. I got outbid on everything else. It's a tatted dresser scarf. I really didn't expect to win it. I'll try to remember to take a picture of it. I also need to take pictures of my purchases.

At breakfast, I found out I'd left my thread on the vendor's table. And they'd already packed them up. We came to a solution so I can get my thread. After breakfast Sunday, we headed home. We took the wrong turn circling Charlotte. I finally got home around 8 pm.

There were people who weren't there whom I missed. One had a death in the family, one has an ailing relative and I don't know about the others. But they were missed.

Monday, I went to help mom move. Met the movers and got her bed, a couple chairs, etc to her new place and got them in place. Then I moved her stuff from her temporary room to her new one. I missed lunch and headed home just after 4pm. I finally got some granola bars about 4:30 pm and CD brought Chinese food for supper.

I woke up aching this morning. But I wore a pair of my new shoes. I took a pair of well-worn shoes, just in case. Good thing, about midday, I needed a break from my high (ish) heel Mary Janes.

Work was as you'd expect after being gone for a week.

RPGaDay 20

Most challenging but rewarding system have you learned?
Hmm, I've learned lots of systems. Although, unless you have a math or science degree, you never really learn Champions (at least the 1980s edition). That was challenging but meh on the rewarding. Ironclaw was rewarding, but not particularly challenging to learn.

I think the answer is Fate. It's not really a hard system but it's a very different mindset than the games I've been playing for the last..few decades. That made it a challenge for me to learn.

RPGaDay 19

Best Way to Learn a New Game

The best way to learn a game is to play it. You get something from reading the rules, from creating characters, even by having demo conflicts (skill, social, combat, etc), but you never really learn the game until you're at the table.

It's when the dice hit the table, you find out how the rules really work. You find the twists and turns and how they play out.

RPGaDay 18

What innovation could RPGs benefit most from?
For map and miniature focused games, 3 dimensional hologram maps would be really cool. Come to think of it, anything that would make it easier to game long distance. I mean technology like Skype and Google+ Hangouts help, but real-time map interface, with miniature/icon sync, and better signal clarity would really help.

I have friends who moved to Canada, and I miss gaming with them. Or my high school friends, or gamers I've met online.

RPGaDay 17

What fictional character would best fit in my group?

Oh, um. It's easy to think of ones that won't fit (even if they are fun to read about). This is additionally complicated by my difficulty remembering names.

Oh, wait, I've got it, Harry Dresden. Leonard (from Big Bang Theory) is another easy one.

There just aren't many who play rpgs. Okay, there are some webcomic strip characters who play, but other than that, well, the numbers are limited. There's Diana Tregarde (from a Mercedes Lackey urban fantasy series). CD suggested Ivy Tamwood (from the Kim Harrison series). 

Family and Tatting

I started the pendant for the beanile class at Palmetto Tat Days. The metallic red thread and black core beads are really pretty. The satin rattail and beads example didn't really work. The beads are too large. Oh well, it was worth a try.

Deadlands game on Thursday. We faced off against the same thug who falsely arrested my character before. Alas, she still failed to kill him. However, the mad scientist was accidentally killed (really, something moved under his clothes and we shot it, missed it and hit him).

Tuesday night a friend of mom's called. Mom needed me to visit. I asked my boss Wednesday morning and thankfully he was okay with it. Thank goodness for an understanding boss and a job with paid leave, and having paid leave to use. 

Friday morning, I went to go see Mom. She ignored the packing list I'd given her. I picked up CC on the way, taking her portable sewing machine. Mom wanted pockets put in her housedresses. We picked up Mom's tv, installed it in her room, took her out to lunch, then left CC at the center to sew the pockets, while Mom and I ran some errands and packed. We still missed a few things, but now she has some toiletries, real clothes beside house dresses, an alternate pair of shoes, etc. CC did a wonderful job of installing pockets.We moved Mom's car and headed home. We stopped halfway for gas and some snacks when I realized I'd left my wallet.

I checked my car again, backtracked to mom's car, mom's room, and then Mom's apartment. I'd left it on the washing machine. Since our washing machine stopped working, with a load of clothes in it, I'd taken those clothes to mom's apartment to wash and dry. I ended up being away from home for more than 12 hours and soooo tired. And I accidentally left my good stork scissors with CC.

But Saturday was the local tatters' meeting. Our usual meeting place (the library) is closed for renovations, so we're meeting at a Whole Foods community room. We can have chocolate at the meeting again. Anitra gave me my exhibit items (scarf, etc). Yay! I had a couple books as birthday presents for her husband and gave them to her.

I messed up my knitting. I noted down the pattern wrong. I bound off and ooh boy, I ran into tension problems. The left side is the cast on.

Sunday, CD and I went washing machine shopping. Luckily, Sears was having a sale. Now I just need to get the basement cleaned up enough to move washing machines through it. At least I have a week and a half.

CC and I met for supper Monday night. She needed a little venting time and I wanted my scissors back. I drank too much caffeine and had a little trouble getting to sleep.

Here, have some clouds.

beads are tooooo big