site of the day: Want to do a good deed for only a few seconds of time (depending on how fast your internet connection is)? Download a text file. Read the information given about why, it will explain better than I can.


Weekend trip: Drove the 3 hours to see my Mom, Aunt & Uncle. It should have been just over two hours but I didn't have the new & improved directions. And I took the wrong highway. Luckily, I saw a road that I recognized & it was pretty much one way at that point (the other way involved a security checkpoint & I knew I didn't need to go that way) so I took it. Of course, my aunt & uncle live at the other end of that road.

We worked on some mending for me and I altered a nightgown for mom (the sleeves were too wide & too long). I finally completed the credit card bag that I've had cut out for months (you cut up a credit card to make the bag closure). I used a scrap of the floral denim that I used for that jumper years ago and a scrap of quilted fabric from a panel Christmas tree skirt, also from years ago. Even though the bag was barely wide enough for the closure, it turned out very well. Mom & Aunt Shirley were very impressed with the idea. If you need to make a larger opening, you can cut the plastic from a bottle instead. The bag I made is almost long enough to hold my glasses which means that it's plenty long enough to hold a shuttle.

I made a haversack for Chris, his Christmas present. I just need to clean up some threads & to work on a closure for it. It's a very easy bag to make but I need to make adjustment if I ever make one again. I sewed the strap into place the length of the bag. Stress will not tear that strap off. There's an "x" at the bottom of the strap plus 3 lines of seam to hold the strap in place. Thanks to the length of the fabric, there's even an interior pocket, I doubled the fabric for the bottom, with a single width for the flap. Imagine: 60" X 18" fabric rectangle. Fold it lengthwise but double, about 2/3 or 4/5. Now fold the doubled fabric in half; that's the body of the bag. The single layer is the flap. Leaving the flap open, sew up the sides of the doubled fabric to make the bag.

After supper (frozen lasagna), I was wiped out so I took a 2 hour plus nap. I woke up in time to go to bed. Mom & I talked for a little while & then went to sleep.
On the way home on Sunday, I managed to miss a turn & went out of my way again. Luckily, as soon as I crossed into the wrong county I recognized that, stopped, pulled out a map & figured out how to get back on track. With all the detours, I had to put more gas in the car. The lowest that I saw was $3.089 a gallon. That's just ridiculous.

Chris ran a zero round on Saturday. He told me a little about it after I got home. He had received one of his belated birthday presents this weekend, too (it had been on back order).

I took a nap & then we watched one of his other birthday presents; Transformers DVD. That really is a good movie. It looks like they had planned to make the army guy the lead but then changed to the young guy. It's something you may not notice the first time that you see it. Friday night we watched another of his birthday presents; Ghost Rider DVD.

books: I finished Light in Shadow (not Light & Shadow) but I've started writing letters & have not had time for more reading (shocking, I know).

sight of the day: young man with the right half of his hair in an afro & the other half in small braids or twists, a la Coolio, but shorter. Either hairstyle is fine, together? Um, not so fine.

clothes: I started Saturday wearing a turtleneck but it was too warm in Aunt Shirley's basement, so I changed to a t-shirt. T-shirt & then turtleneck on Sunday, blue jeans both days. I wore tennis shoes when I went out but slippers the rest of the time. Butterfly earrings, flower fairy pendant, flower ring, ~rope ring, & a ponytail. Too bad the ponytail caused horrendous rats nests in my hair, right where the ponytail hit my shirt collar.

I really wished my mom would stop smoking. My hair reeks.

Today I'm wearing black shoes, jeans & belt, same watch & hematite ring, sage green rayon shirt (Mom fixed the cuff), triskele posts, triskele in triangle pendant, Celtic knot ring, black stone ring & loose hair (after I got the tangles out, I just didn't feel like doing anything else to it).

Chris's back: The chiropractor gave Chris this brochure about everything that chiropractors can affect. Among other things, like cold feet (?), sinus problems were included. Giving it a shot, Chris told him about the mucus problem that he's had since 8th grade. The guy nodded, probed Chris's neck, found the key spot, then popped Chris's neck (very scary, this guy has your head in his hands & he's set up so that he can break your neck, why does no movie every use a chiropractor assassin?). By the time Chris had walked to the therapy room, his sinuses had started clearing.

Last night I helped him stretch. It was simple leg stretches. I remember doing those in fencing. That plus the ice packs twice a day are supposed to really help. So far, so good.

site of the day: Light a virtual candle for homeless youth in America

Gaming: Last night I went to a local game store to play the 2nd Blackmoor intro mod. I already had my character pretty much done, except for all of her equipment (Peshwah ne Dene am Brialta. Good thing, too. We were playing at a local gaming store, which I had been to before, I just hadn't driven there myself. Before I left work yesterday, I looked up directions on how to get there. It was easy, just 3 turns & the 1st one was a 'gimmee'.

I rushed home, ate a quick microwave meal, gathered my game stuff & my laptop, then headed out the door. Realizing as I made that 1st key turn, that I had forgotten to include a mini. At least I had dice. It's after dark but I remember that the 2nd turn was at a stoplight so I didn't have to read every street sign that I passed. I'm not sure exactly where I went, but I saw this one road at least 4 times. I finally managed to get back on the 1st road to look for that 2nd turn from the other direction when I see it. A sign saying "Archdale" to the left. That's the road I was looking for. But I need to turn right. Ahhhh, mapquest had not kept up. The road name had changed. Once I had that key info, I found the store pretty easily. I was only um, 15 to 30 minutes late. Luckily, everyone else (except Joe) were still in the process of making their characters. Mandy, the only other woman at the table, sympathized with me on the road thing. She had had the exact same experience the first time she had driven to the store.

Tatting: I got farther along on that variegated red bookmark. It's not easy gaming, taking notes & tatting & I fear that the tatting suffered. I did not get very far. This morning, on the bus, I managed to get another flower done. I think that puts me at halfway. I think.

Alas, after I stopped for my morning soda, as I reached to the door to my building, I could see in the reflection in the glass that my ball of thread was missing. I looked back, yes, I was trailing red thread. I backtracked & there's was the ball, happily unwinding as the pedestrian who'd (unknowingly, I hope) caught his foot in the thread was dragging it along. I grabbed the ball & started winding. Red heart thread is pretty but it has a %!*@# of a twist to it. I was worried about knotting it and just started winding the whole twisted mess onto the ball. First thing I did when I got to my desk (after taking off my coat & scarf of course) was untangle the ball & get it rewound. I had a considerable amount of thread to wind, alas.

new online thread source: Knitting warehouse

books: I dipped into re-reading part of Light & Shadow by Krentz. I was going to pack it & Thraxas (a loaned book as it's apparently out of print) for my workday read but forgot.

clothes: newly repaired shoes (okay, since Saturday, but that should still qualify as new), black jeans, same belt & watch, same hairstyle, same hematite band, ~rope band, Celtic knot ring, Celtic knot earrings, triangle pendant with triskele and burgundy turtleneck.

okay the books that I bought: A Gentleman's Honor by Laurens, To Sir Phillip, with Love by Quinn, More than Honor anthology edited by Weber, Light & Shadow by Krentz & Blood Trail by Huff. All of them are paperback.

Today I bought Paladin of Souls by Bujold & First Rider's Call by Britain. Both of them are in hardback, spent more than I should but at least I had a discount. I still want Monstrous Regiment by Pratchett.

It's been a busy day. Found out this morning that Facilities was coming to change the nook to an office & a closet today..not the 26th. So we had to clear out the boxes, the desk & assorted equipment today so that they could start work tomorrow. It's done. It took a lot of time & other people but it's done. Most of the stuff has now been stored in a few different offices until we locate permanent 'residences' for it all.

I've listened to my Worlds of Music cd's today. Definitely a wide range of music, from Zuni lullaby to African to East European to Cash's Folsom Prison Blues.