Progress and Plans

 Tri-Tatters met today. Only 4 of us made it, but we had some visitors stop by. I made progress on the carnation boutonniere.

 

carnation boutonniere in progress

I got my Covid and flu vaccines on Wednesday. 12 hours later my body reacted, "We've been invaded!" I went to bed with a fever. By the time I woke up, the fever was broken, but I was exhausted. I took off from work (yay, sick days) and slept for 6-7 hours (with a break in the middle to think about lunch). I skipped gaming because I was still not up to par. 

Guess who got sick?

 You've got 3 guesses & 1st 2 don't count.

It wasn't Covid (I tested) but it might have been RSVP. It definitely involved mucus and fever. For about 2 days I lived on water and intermittent peanut butter crackers (I couldn't manage more than 1 at a time). 

I did get some tatting done, before & after. I made snowflakes for several friends (from A Veritable Tatted Blizzard). I gave this year's State Fair Ornament entry to a pair of friends who will appreciate it. 

I'm glad I went to see my family before Christmas, so getting sick didn't ruin that at least. But my other plans, Christmas dinner with my partner's family, sewing, tatting, etc all got kiboshed. 

I was already scheduled to be off work so no need to notify anyone there.

At least I recovered enough that I was both feeling better and not contagious so I could maintain the Christmas/New Year tradition of the party with my friends from high school, plus additions.

I don't think I got many pictures of the snowflakes I made. I'll need to check. I have 3 at least. The picture with 2 flakes are the same pattern that I made a slight error on. But once is a mistake, repeat and it's a design element.

Frosted Flower Snowflake

1st flake in the book, done twice

  

We had a springlike thunderstorm on the 9th. Luckily, we didn't get hit by a tornado but some neighboring communities did.

We got some rain on Jan 9th

 

pocket scarf progress

Kiriki Press kit squirrel

I'm proud of this tag on a coworker's cookies

I also joined a 2024 Temperature Tat A Long (this is as of January 9th)

2024 TTAL January 9th

The metallic is to start the year & remind me where the start is so I don't accidentally join to the wrong end. Beads are for >1/2" of rain. No snow/ice yet.

Much Improved

I have the occasional cough and that's it. I am so much better now.

I volunteered at a blood drive last week, but due to my lingering cold symptoms I didn't donate. I have now made an appointment to donate platelets next week. Wish me luck.

I had a dental appointment next week, but then remembered a meeting that same morning so I cancelled it. I need to reschedule.

The big news at work is the removal of the Silent Sam, aka Confederate monument, pedestal and the BoG firing the chancellor. Frankly, not even letting her finish the semester makes them look petty.

The Federal Government is still shut down. #45 is throwing a temper tantrum and Mitch McConnell is aiding and abetting his tantrum.

I made it to the Tri-Tatters meeting on Saturday. The library rooms weren't available this month, so we met at a Starbucks. They only let rooms for 2 hours, so we had a short meeting. I got there late because I just felt meh. The cold rain didn't help. I handed out some of the size 10 Alisa got from her friend. One ball went to a new tatter and the other 6 to the woman who was leaving as I arrived and let me have her seat.

Someone brought in a couple of extra vintage tatting books. No one else got this one, so I did.

The only tatting I've been doing is small projects to use up some vintage thread. The thread was wrapping around a ball of paper, and it's not continuous. It's been a little frustrating. I went ahead and loaded two shuttles and I've gradually been tatting them down.

I'm still working on Mom's shrug. I finished the shoulders and the 2nd skein about the same time. Now I'm on the 2nd sleeve and the 3rd skein. I'm also working on A n' S's washcloths. I have 3 of them done (and given them 2) but the last one is being very slow. It's a moss stitch and should do quite well.

I did have a close call. I was moving the shrug around (as I hunting up where I'd put the 3rd skein) and some of the stitches popped off the pegs. And some of the purl stitches came out. I managed to get the stitches on the edge back onto pegs, and got loops of yarn (pulled stitches) and stitches back on. Then I purled the loops back into place. Whew. All saved.








first sleeve almost done here








A friend has asked me for a long scarf, kind of like my temperature scarf. But he wants blue, black, purple, etc quasi-Dr. Who scarf. I think I can do it in cotton. I shall have to check the sales to get the yarn cheap enough. He's willing to pay, but it's going to take me a long time to make.

Sunday, Chris and I went to pick up my (much) belated birthday present. Apparently he's been looking for this present for months.

It needs some cleaning and stuff, but it's an old table Singer sewing machine. I got a picture of the engine, but not the serial number. It's in storage now because I'll need to make a place to put it. It's probably c. 1959.

The social media site, Google+ is being closed down. It really makes me sad. I've made some good friends and contacts there.

but here's a pretty sky

Gillette has a new ad out. It tempts me to buy my next razor from them. There are some who consider it a company profiting from a political movement, and yes, it is. But it's also calling on men to stand up, to other men and against toxic masculinity. And I'd rather the company take that stance than the opposite view.

The long, slow, recovery

Well, I've been sick since (checks calendar) about Dec 20th. The worst was over around the 27th (when I left the house for the first time since the 21st). I picked up a few last minute items, went to gaming, and then headed west on Friday.

But the cough lingers on. I canceled my platelets appointment; I just wasn't healthy enough to make it viable. I volunteered at a blood drive today (the one from early December that was rescheduled due to snow). But I still didn't feel quite well enough to donate. Alas.

Here's the shrug I knitted (loom) and gave to my sister-in-law.

And there's the one I gave to Shannon S.

I ran out of yarn on Shannon's but still had some yarn left from SIL's. I did one cuff in that, then edged the 1st cuff in the yarn.

I used the last 12 yards (plus 2 yards from another skein) to make this coffee cozy for S.R.

I gave the blue dice bags (tiny, stitch tests) to my gaming group.

I'm starting on a shrug for Mom. Michael's had a $2 a skein sale and I bought 3 skeins to make sure I had enough. I've finished off 1 and I still have quite of bit to go. I may not use all 3 skeins, but I think I'll use 2 of them and dip into the 3rd.

It's very bright. Mom loves these colors, so she'll be happy. The blue stitch marker on the left is where I started Sunday morning. The not quite visible violet one is the 30 row mark (from cuff). I have reached the divide for the shoulders.

My namesake likes llamas. Or she did. She might be llama'ed out after this holiday. I only gave her a journal and pencil cup. She also got earrings, a plush, and a coverlet. That's what I saw; but I believe there was more.

I met CC for supper on the 1st. She now has my temperature scarf; which I finished on the 1st. She's going to cut it and restitch it into a blanket. I also gave her the balls of yarn, in case she has to cut and replace any of the rows in the process. And now that I'm done, I want to do another one. But not the same way. If I do it again, 1) smaller yarn, 2) 1 row per day, not 2, and 3) maybe I'll include median and low temps. With precipitation rows as unifiers, I bet I could do it.

If I do it, I'll start by looking at the last couple years to get a general idea about the temperature ranges. For 2018, there were 3 colors I never used. I never used the 'highs in the teens', 'highs over 100', and 'highs over 110'; thankfully.

I was going to go see Mom on Saturday when the tatting plans fell through. But I was still so tired. I just sat around and knitted.

Presents I've received; hooked needles for bead spinner, hot tea (and a couple honey sticks), loom knit small animals book, beginning knit loom book, toffee, candy, gift certs (JoAnne's and AC Moore), soup mug (with homemade cookies tucked inside), a sign (made by JJ with his new laser cutter), bell necklace made from the handle of flatware, ornaments, umbrella, yarn, yarn case, and more yarn.

I got sick (and Merry Christmas if that's your thing)

I started getting a sore throat on Wednesday, but thought it might be a response to the changing weather. I went to donate platelets, and they suggested I wait, as I wasn't well. And then I got worse.

I canceled my plans to go to the Tri-Tatters meeting. I didn't go do my last-minute shopping. I didn't even go to my Dad's and K's house (or anywhere else) for Christmas. I stayed home, rested, drank hot tea, and finished my knitting projects. At least I could handle those (they're presents so no pics until next week).

I've gotten a start on wrapping, but there's more to do. I gave C his present and he gave me mine. Needless to say, I don't feel very festive this year.

I am going through my hot tea stores. C went to spend Christmas with his family, so he hit the store first to get me soup, etc. I was going to be with my family, so we had pretty much cleared out the fridge of leftovers.

Here's the snowflake I made for the Tri-tatters' exchange (Lizbeth metallic, silver) and the one I gave our next door neighbor (size 40 silver grey Lizbeth). It's a free pattern, Editha.

silver

silver grey cotton with beads

Two Weeks in a Row

I've actually posted on Tuesday, two weeks in a row. Yay me.

Wednesday was an all day retreat for work. I got some tatting done during the meetings; as usual it's my fidget-y habit. I got a bracelet done. It's in green and white thread with dark green beads. I've blocked it but not taken a picture yet.

I've also done some kumihimo with some faux leather cord mom picked up at a thrift shop. There's also some hemp cord. I've been looking at the cord but haven't decided which colors to use or pattern. There's at least 2 or 3 sizes of hemp thread. So I turned to some cotton cord. It's not fancy but it still looks nice; hey, I'm using packing string but you'd be surprised how well it turns out.

I was supposed to go see Mom this weekend, but the storms or something gave me a headache. I didn't get much done. Ditto Sunday. I got laundry done, at least.

I'm going to try and go see Mom this weekend instead. I'd really like to take care of her car, but it's 'someone to drive me there, help me jumpstart it, and then follow me home.' And that's not easy.

CD had to miss a couple classes last week. One of his tires went flat and his spare was low. So it was off to the shop to get the tire replaced. At least the spare was only low and didn't need to be replaced, too. On the other hand, the zipper of the cover for the spare tire had more or less welded or something. He had to cut it off. He had to buy a new cover. He got one that uses elastic instead. Maybe it will last better. The zipper only lasted like 10 years.

Yesterday, there was a frog drowner as I waited for the bus. It started raining as I left work and came down hard as I waited. It was still raining when I got off the bus, but not as hard. Today, the exact same thing happened, but it only spitting when I got off the bus today. At least I had my emergency umbrella. One poor woman yesterday did not have an umbrella and she was wearing a white shirt. Another woman was wearing white pants. I heard her wringing out her summer sweater, and I heard splashing. Poor woman. 

I do have some pictures. So, are thistles edible?

More plants (tomatoes and peppers and herbs and some big-leaf plant)

Happy Passover or Easter or if you don't celebrate either, happy weekend

I worked on a couple more ice drops in the size 10 thread.

I also started coughing. I thought it was pollen or nearby brushfires. No, I have a cold. It started hitting Friday afternoon (while I was doing mom's taxes) and then really hit hard over the weekend. I did get mom's taxes done, not without some stress and headaches, but done.

I even got the paperwork in the mail today. I went into work long enough yesterday and today to get some time sensitive work done. Then home and rest. Although the coughing keeps interfering. 

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.

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. 

Where Did My Weekend Go?

Okay, Saturday was 'put load of clothes in dryer' and then cough. I did nothing else productive, at least in part because my body has been telling me to rest and a serious cough is an indication I take seriously.

Sunday was errands and meeting my friend's new puppy. I'm not sure how to spell the puppy's name, but her nickname is Dezi, which I'm not sure how to spell either. She's just over 4 pounds of black and white Alaskan Klee Kai and very cute.

I'm on the 3rd snowflake of Anitra's book. As a change, I did this one in a variegated green (Christmas green mix) and Lizbeth fruit fizz. It makes a very floral snowflake. Sorry for the size of the linked images. You'd get a better look by going to Handy Hands website and look up the thread colors in the Lizbeth thread.

I'm still working on Mom's living arrangements. I have high hopes of fast progress that will make her happy and be better for her.

If anyone says drugs and songs are a new thing, at best they're mistaken. At worst, they LIE. This particular song was sung by Cab Calloway.

storm clouds

crepe myrtle in bloom

1st page of birthday coloring book

 Saturday is another session of Tears at Bitter Manor. I'm only prepping part of it. Hopefully they won't get farther than that.

What's a Schedule?

I had started working on my blog and then Wednesday afternoon I got a phone call. My mom was going to the emergency room. It turned out not to be any of the really scary things but she was still in the hospital for a couple days while they ran tests to eliminate those things. They're still not certain what caused her problems, but they're working on fixing them. In the meantime, I'm calling her every day to check on her.

Thank goodness my boss was understanding about my absence. I left Wednesday after he was gone for the day so all he had from me was some emails and a couple voice mails. I finally talked to him Friday afternoon, and he was 'family comes first. Everything here will still be here when you get back. Um, but while I have you on the phone, there's an issue on Monday.' I let him know we didn't need to panic until Tuesday and I was working on stopgap to take care of it if I wasn't back before then. 

I found out I'm a stress faster. Although that's not quite accurate. I was hungry sometimes, but my stomach was so upset that food just didn't look attractive. I drank ginger ale and grabbed a few bites here and there but only had 2.5 meals from Wednesday through Friday. I'm not counting the dinner roll and other bits as part of that count. 

Her sister is back home; after mom got out of the hospital on Friday, I drove my aunt to meet her son. He drove her the rest of the way home. That reminds me, I need to call and tell him when the family reunion is.

Saturday I went ahead and started running Tears at Bitter Manor. I hadn't had a chance to finish prep but I had enough done to get us through the 1st day of gaming. It's a good module with a good storyline. There's a haunt in it, but unlike so many of them, there is a way to find out how the cause and find out how to stop it permanently.

Saturday night was the biggest meal I'd had since Tuesday night. It was a bit more than my system was able to handle. Erp.

Sunday the only thing I did was finish the laundry I started on Wednesday. I'm gradually relaxing a bit. I'm working on one of my birthday coloring books and testing some patterns for Anitra's book of tatting patterns.

Then Wednesday night a transformer blew and we lost power. This is the (I think) the 2nd time in a month. It lasted much longer this time. Power wasn't restored until after 8 am on Thursday.

Deadlands game was Thursday. I'm still playing Alys Reeves. She let herself get arrested (she was framed) and let someone else break her out of jail. Hannah caused a stampede to create a distraction and got us (Doc and Jason were in the jail, too) out. Jason added some oomph to the stampede and we went after the sheriff. The sheriff was actually one of the people we were sent to capture or kill.

One of my on-line friends is having a baby so a number of us are planning a blanket. I need to pick up some yarn to do my square.

I have a new phone. It's an older Android and it's not intuitive for me. It has 3 places to save contact info (phone, USIM, and google). And I can't move someone from one to another. As a result, most of my contacts are still in my old phone. Plus, it's a pre-paid and I'm having the devil of a time finding the number of minutes left.

CD and I have been watching Miss Fisher's Mysteries. It's interesting. Some of the screenplays are from the books, but the murderer is not necessarily the same. It means even though I read the books, I have to watch to figure out whodunit.

I'm reading about 3 series right now. There's the Dark Heavens series, and its sequel Journey to Wudang, written by Kyle Chan. I just ordered the 2nd book of Journey. I've also started a series, The Others, that started with Written in Red, by Anne Bishop. I have the next 2 on order but they're grouped with a pre-ordered book so I won't see them for some time. Both are sort of urban fantasy but very different settings.

The 3rd series is historical romance. It's the Dressmakers by Loretta Chase. Funny thing, I read book 4 and then went back to read books 1 and 2. I have book 3 on order. The same order as the Others, so I won't see it either for some time.

almost full house in Necko Atsume game

For Pulse, in Orlando

possibly edible

roof plants, outside mom's hospital room

Oops, lost track of time

Sorry, (to all 3 of my readers) I lost track of time and didn't post. The Friday after I came back from Md Sheep and Wool, mom totaled her car. She was completely unhurt and well, it was an old van. Takes less to total it. I drove to see her the following Saturday. I was going to help her get stuff out of her van; except the place where it had been towed was only open Monday - Friday, 9-5. Yeah.

She bought a new Honda (2013) on Monday. And she has declared that if anything happens to that car, she's stealing mine. So I'll have to go car shopping and not her.

I did stuff the weekend after, but cannot remember. I finally took the hand/wrist brace off today, for more than a brief span of time. I'm still going to wear it at night, and not type as much, and not tat....she types. 

For my birthday, I went and volunteered at a charity golf tournament; Chancellors' Cup, to benefit the Janet P. Royster scholarship. This year it was at Tobacco Road Golf Course, in Sanford. I was taking a table so we got a minivan from motor pool. I drove it down there, and got there at 7:30 am, with a golfer, too. Ramses came for a visit and was a big hit. Even people who aren't UNC fans had fun; like the guy who said, 'I can't have my picture taken with him, I'll get thrown out of the family; we're all State fans.' Ramses did a little golfing, too. Until we sent him back to the clubhouse. It was really hot and he'd been in the sun most of an hour and a half. He came back again for a short time.

sometimes it was rough

After, CD took me out to supper. We had a lovely supper. He had left my birthday presents waiting for me when I got up in the morning. He left balloons, too.

And this is one of my presents:

 There is also a couple coloring books, a novel, and another nonfiction. Oh, and a gift cert to B&N.

Then this past weekend, I went to see Mom again. Her car is nice, newer than mine, and has a backup camera. We got stuff ready for Aunt S's visit. Mom was to meet cousin AJ, who was bringing her from the coast, in Efland.

Oh, and my latest Kumihimo project.

I've done a necklace length and I'm working on a bracelet length.

Mom's present to me was to pay for my bids on the Tatting Corner auction. I bought some thread, beads and books. I'll need to take pictures of those to add to my Pinterest board (thread I own, books I own).