What a Storm!

Last Wednesday was my last Employee Forum meeting. It was the retreat so I joined them for lunch and then the committee annual reports. I found two potential successors. They are going to give me an answer before the next Carolina Campus Community Garden meeting. I gave them a rundown on what I've been doing and some ideas for the coming year.

Friday I went to see mom. We went to lunch, at ice cream at Ozzie, hit a thrift shop, and then in the afternoon we toured a couple assisted living facilities. Mom is healthy as a horse but she's having some driving problems. The nearest bus stop is a mile away and she's reluctant to call a taxi. That left her stranded in her apartment, except when friends came to take her lunch, etc. Mom and long-term idleness are not friends. No matter how much you enjoy it, there's only so much tv, reading, and crocheting one person can do without going a little stir crazy.
Persimmon tree outside Ozzie's

Both were smaller establishments. Those are better for forming personal relationships and so the staff are more familiar with the residents and more likely to notice changes. Mom is going to have lunch at one of them on Monday, to see what they're dining is like.

After the second tour, a storm front was moving through so I stayed a little longer to let it pass. I headed home and got caught in the traffic from a nasty (I counted 13 vehicles; cars and at least 1 semi) accident. It looked like an extended fender bender without serious injuries. At least, I certainly hope there weren't any.

Saturday, I ran another session of Tears at Bitter Manor. I tried a new route to get to RW's house. Didn't work. I ended up retracing my steps to take the route I took last time. I was half an hour late. One of the other players, MC, was 'later'. By later, I mean he never got the scheduling emails and had other plans on Saturday. I had printed out a copy of his character, just in case.

RG brought her new puppy. Desi is not old enough to be left alone that long. We ended up getting supper from Tangerine Cafe. RW went to pick it up, as his character was cowering and couldn't act.

We played a little longer than we had planned as a storm bad enough for a weather warning came through. The 1st warning ended at 9:15 so we headed home. Not a good plan. I got thoroughly soaked getting my gaming stuff into my car. It took 3 trips and may I say again how glad my laptop backpack came with a rain cover.

The storm was a frog-strangler, flash-flood kind of storm. I drove far below the speed limit (with my hazard lights flashing) for much of the trip home. Luckily, there was a car or two ahead of me for most of the drive. If they made it through, I figured the road wasn't flooded out and I was safe. There was one short stretch when I didn't have someone to follow. And one short stretch without power, and that included two stoplights, but no cross traffic; which is good because I couldn't see the stoplights until I was passing through the intersection. There was only once a passing car's splash obscured my windshield. And only once when the water was deep enough for me to be concerned.

Not sure how visible it is, but my hair is very wet

I finally got home and promptly hung up my clothes to dry out. Sunday, I took my time getting up and about. Ion channel marathons Leverage on Sundays and they played the last episode and the 1st episode back to back.

CD and I went to City Barbecue again for lunch and then to Barnes and Noble to pick up the book they had on hold for me. Not surprising, I bought a couple other books, too. Since I was there and all.

I finished a cross from Anitra's book and that's it. I am pinning out the snowflakes I've gotten done so I can photograph them and send the pictures to her.

Mom said she enjoyed lunch at one of the facilities on Sunday. They invited her to come try the food. I really want to talk to mom's doctor.

Oh, and through tomorrow, there's a contest to win supplies for a bullet journal. If you enter, I get another entry. Here's the link: https://prpage.co/EKN/%2B39261/ .

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.

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.

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

I WON!

I won a TotusMel bracelet from Choklit. I'm squee'ing I'm so happy. I missed her announcement so she contacted me on Twitter. Wasn't that nice of Choklit?

Yes, I still have my migraine. Thank goodness for pain medication. I still have the headache, but unlike years ago when my only option was extra strength acetimoophen, or a relative, I am not curled in a ball in darkened room, whimpering. Yes, I have done that. My pillow hurt, it was that bad.

Someone else's contest & family stuff

A wonderful artist is running a contest on her blog. It's a tiered contest so I'm going to let you in on it, despite my own desparate desire to win. If she get 33 individual entries, then she offers up a $33 certificate to her etsy shop. She makes gorgious cuffs, collars, sleeve garters & earrings. See, take a look. If she gets 66 entries, the certificate goes up to $66.


Another day, another way to help Haiti

I had a nice time visiting my mom & her older sister this weekend. I pulled out my laptop to get family info. My mom & two of her sisters were brunettes, while the youngest was blonde. No one could remember what color my granddaddy's hair was before it went white, and Other Mother's hair was dark (yes, I called her Other Mother, because she was more like another mother than a grandparent; I was 5, I thought it was An Other).

I finished my Ren faire blouse. Mom and Aunt Shirley took one look and were aghast. It's kind of shapeless because, duh, I'll be wearing a bodice over it, which will provide any shaping. So yes, it hangs like a sack. I did run into one problem with using the old sheet; the machines hated it. I wasn't using industrial machines and the tight weave of the sheets did funny things to the stitch evenness. As they say, I won't be wearing it to meet the queen after all. Not a real one, anyway.

I also fixed a not-quite-antique beaded & embroidered sweater vest. (note: I need pictures of these 2 projects,don't I?). I had to replace one pearl, I let one bugle remain missing and I fixed some loose embroidery threads. It took about 10 minutes & the difference is remarkable. Mom & Aunt S were amazed. They'd been letting it sit for months, waiting for me to fix it. They didn't realize that it was so simple. Admittedly, it was simplified by Aunt S having a pearl on hand for me to use.

The weather, by the way, is remarkably warm. It started Sunday with temps in the 60's. And it was sunny. Same thing yesterday, and today. I wore a polo shirt today, atlhough there was frost on the ground this morning. My neighbor's poor pear tree though, it's put out blossoms. That won't last. We had a thunderstorm Sunday & that means that winter weather is likely in the next 11 days. It sounds like superstition but it has a scientific basis. If the conditions are right to have a thunderstorm in winter, then they're right to have 'wintery' weather (around here that's code for snow/sleet/freezing rain), too.

More Photos of Fair & some of my own crafts & contest alert
tatting & ~knitting & my HallooBoobies entry [cleavage alert]
Not my contest, someone else's
Fangs, Fur & Fey are having a belated 3rd anniversary contest

Go to their site for instructions. Grand prize is a Kindle. Whoot!

Now to Picture fun

Rebecca/Tatmom03's cross - burgundy DMC perle 8. I start with a chain at the top. I leave a picot (using a large safety pin), so that I can end on a split ring & used the ends in a tassel.

Here's my entry in last week's BoobieWed contest (for Breast Cancer Awareness).


Not tatting, but a gorgeous State Fair Entry. And look, there's a matching hat!

TotusMel complained that she never got to see her pieces 'in the wild'. So I spent some time finding wild places & taking photos. The 1st one is just of me, wearing the pendant.

Then, one of my wearing the pendant on a pin (it's on my c.1812 pinafore that I was wearing on Saturday).

I put it on a tree (the one that the rughooker used to show off her ornaments)

Mum's the word

Do you ever wonder is someone is out of her gourd?

Look, the pendant made a friend!

I loaned it to one of the trolls in the Village of Yesteryear & had the dickens of a time getting it back (those trolls are known pranksters).

Luckily, that's a very patient duck.
I'm keeping my eyes open for other 'wild' places to put the pendant.

Last year, I ordered a basket for my tatting. Janet made a lipped basket with a secure lid and, well, here's a couple pictures.

A tisket, a tasket, a custom tatting basket

As you can see, it has a bar across the handle, so I can put a ball of thread there to either load my shuttle or as the chain thread, without it rolling away or getting tangled. The bar is high enough that I can fit a ball of size 10 knit-cro sheen without it hitting the lid handle. She made three baskets, although with shorted handles and sold two of them by the 1st Saturday of the fair. She started another basket for me, with a longer handle, and the 3rd one sold. If she'd had a 4th one, she would have sold that one, too.

I did a little knitting (Operation Gratitude, care packages for our soldiers in Afghanistan & elsewhere). I made a couple scarves. The first one is about 3' long and 3" wide. The 2nd one is about 2.5' long & 5" wide.

I have a horrid cough and am quite tired (I went home Wednesday & immediately went to sleep, woke up long enough to eat supper & then back to sleep - after 2 nights of full sleep!). I stayed home yesterday & that's when I finished the 2nd scarf. I didn't go to gaming either; I needed the rest & why chance infecting the others.

If you're interested this is the yarn that I used:

Here's a shot of the Fair, not far off the midway. Can you see the oak tree? It's huge.

Another ride photo:

I hate being sick
But then most people do. I woke up this morning with a scratchy throat & body aches. I lay there, trying to decide whether to go to work; leaning toward calling in sick. Suddenly I realized, I couldn't hear my alarm clock radio. Hazily I looked over at; 2:41 am. WTH!? I groaned and tried to go back to sleep. Unsuccessfully. I finally got up and went to drink some oj and take some painkillers. I don't feel human yet; but at least I don't feel like the walking dead. I'm catching up a little on my internet reading (groups, lists, etc) and watching Yankee Doodle Dandy.

I found a contest to win an iPod shuffle. I'd certainly like to win one. They're giving one away every Friday.

I had a blog for yesterday. I wonder what I did with it. I think it's saved on a flash drive somewhere.