Palmetto Tat Days, less than a month

It's less than a month until Palmetto Tat Days. I haven't started fretting about my prep yet. I have gotten emails about homework, though. And packing will be...interesting this year.

Thanks to Anitra's car being a yutz, we'll be taking my car. Another local tatter will be coming with us (we'll call her V). My car is Honda Civic. I think I'll be packing smaller to get all of us into it. We have a bag of tins from CK, plus the ones Mom and I have collected to take. Plus there's the infamous poncho and its decoy, neither of which qualify as particularly small. Figure at least 2 bags for each of us on the way down, and 3 bags when we return (we will be making purchases after all). It's going to be a squeeze. Added, we're picking up a 4th tatter on the way. I have ordered a TripTik from AAA.

I'll be Georgia Seitz's assistant in her class on weird joins. Such a thrill. Georgia Seitz is such a sweet lady. I've been working on that project instead of the gold/silver bead bracelet and necklace.

homework for Georgia's class

Had the monthly date with CC last week. She's applying for a project at work. Her video interview was Friday. I need to find out how that went.

I am terrified of dentists. I wasn't always, but the older I get the more anxious I get about them. It's not a phobia because it's not an irrational fear. I have a small mouth, soft tooth enamel, and a sensitive gag reflex; both of these contribute to a potentially lousy visit. Add in some past experiences, and well, let's just say it adds up.

However, I had a toothache, and it got bad enough I couldn't sleep. It wasn't a constant pain either, it would come and go in waves. After a couple days, I worked up the nerve and found a dentist in my insurance network, and who was close to my home. They saw me quickly, at least for an initial problem-solving and we've scheduled a follow-up to take care of some other issues. The dentist and staff were all very nice and understanding about my anxiety. The dentist even asked what incidents contributed to my anxiety so as to avoid doing those things, or at least be aware of possible triggers.

I finished the tatting on the bracelet to match the earrings. Now I need to make a necklace. Karey suggested using a large bead and threading the beaded tassel/tatting through that, although the bookmark has me toying with making a lariat necklace.

A friend of mine (not a close friend but we have a huge overlap in social circles) has been going through a big change in her life. It's been a kind of a scary change for her so I plan to make a bracelet for her. Of course, I have a necklace, a star/snowflake, and State Fair jewelry project to make. Of course, I could overlap the State Fair project and her bracelet. I am taking a bracelet class at Palmetto Tat Days, I think.

C made chocolate chess pie. It is yum.

These are some things from Kickstarter projects that arrived last week. The artist did a really good job with the illustrations and the cards. I have friends who want to buy the deck and I'm trying to find out how they can do that.

I got the PDF of the gamebook, too

Another Busy Weekend

The folks from PBS picked up my Saturn on Thursday. I'm a little torn. I drove that car for 20 years, so I'll miss it. On the other hand, it wasn't as reliable anymore and it kept needing repairs, usually expensive ones. I have to pay property, etc taxes on it one last time.

Anitra's car decided to misbehave so I gave her a ride to Mordecai House on Saturday. They have a living history day on the 1st Saturday of the month; they invite people doing or demonstrating old skills to come to the museum. Last time the Triangle Tatters were there, there was also a chair caner; although he was outside, under the trees.

They had us in the visitor center again (yay, air conditioning), but not in the classroom. We were in a room facing the doors, which was nice. We had a number of people stop by to watch and/or talk to us. I made a pair of earring from Karey Solomon's book, Tatting by Ear. And because I couldn't get the beads back into the bag, I also made the bookmark based on the same pattern. And maybe I'll make a necklace, or a bracelet. Since I already have the beads on the thread (thank you Beadalon beadspinner). I used Autumn Spice (size 20, Lizbeth#136) thread and mixed gold and silver beads from Michael's.

As I was entering Anitra's house, I felt something on the back of my neck. I figured something from a tree had gotten caught in my hair so I brushed it off. It was not plant matter. FYI, wasps do not like being brushed off. Ow. Anitra and Steve treated the wasp sting and while it twinged off and on all day and I am avoiding collared shirts for now, it's not that bad.

When I got home, I had packages waiting. Both are from Kickstarter projects I backed. 

box for cards

sampling of cards

I backed the Kickstarter at PDF level and got these extras on top of that (GM screen, book of essays, and cardstock character sheets)

Sunday, I made a stab and sorting and culling stuff. I did not get as much done on that front as I would have liked.

Blog vs. Sleep, Guess Who Won?

This past weekend, Fantasy Gamer Conclave went really well, They raised lots of money for the NC Autism Society. I ran Silverhex Chronicles in all three of the slots, as planned. The first table only had 3 people, including a GM from one of the other tables. But they made it through 5 of the 6 Quests and had fun. The next table was in the evening, and we started playing around 7:30. We got through 2 Quests, finishing around 12:15 or so in the morning. But great fun was had by all, It was a group of teens and two fathers.

The next morning C & I tried to get to the Conclave early enough to make it to tea but we just missed it. They sold out, as usual. I ran for five more people in the afternoon. One of them was playing somewhat reluctantly. Her boyfriend had pretty much pleaded with her to at least give it a try. Turns out, she really enjoyed it. Since I had people who had either never played before or had not played in a long time, we played much slower. We got through 2 quests in four hours. Still, the important goal was accomplished, people had fun.

However, I was exhausted. I did not manage to get to bed early Sunday night as I had planned. Monday night, we went out to supper. I., a college friend, was in town visiting her parents. We got together with C, R, DR, and DC to have supper at a noodle place. The food was delish but I think their AC was out. It got quite warm. Nonetheless, we had a great time and walked down the street to find some coffee or ice cream. We ended up at the Irish pub. They were having trivia night, which got a little loud but we managed to keep talking anyway.

I enjoyed the flan at the noodle place, but when we got to the pub I wish I'd saved room. They had some delicious looking desserts. Eventually, I headed home, about an hour later than I should have. To make it worse, I ran into construction traffic and didn't get home until quite late (for me).

Cute website: you can get pictures to inspire more words. Right now, it's set to new kitten picture every 100 words.

I finally got my title to my Saturn straightened out. I've called PBS to send someone to tow it away. They'll auction it off. The company handling the auction gets 25% and PBS gets 75%, and I get at least $500 tax deduction. If my car sells for me, I'll get that amount for a tax deduction. And it does have practically new tires, steering pump, etc.

Can you spot the bee?

The edging, as promised

Gosh, it's hot

I made my supervisor very happy on Friday. He asked for my help with a spreadsheet. It wasn't hard, just tedious and time consuming. I managed to get it done before I left on Friday. I wasn't at work yesterday, so I wanted it done and not have it waiting for me when I got back.

Rose after a thunderstorm

Survived the storm

Saturday, CD, RG and I drove north to Maryland. The drive up was horrendous. The 5 plus hour drive took about 7 or 8 hours. That included a heavy storm, one so dark I couldn't read at 3 pm in the afternoon. It also included stop and roll traffic from Richmond to DC. Ugh.

On the bright side, I finished my edging and got it sewn onto my wrap. It looks..fabulous. I need to get a good picture of it.

Left is almost new ball of thread, right is the one used for edging, started new

Our friends MM and B were having a 'meet our babies' picnic on Sunday. B's sisters organized it. They did a great job, food, decorations, drinks, etc. The only problem was one they couldn't control; the weather. It was hotter'n Hades on Sunday. We were under a shelter, so we had shade at least. There was an occasional, welcome breeze. I wore my lightest weight skirt and wielded my fan. The twins are a couple months old now and quite adorable. RG spent most of the picnic holding Baby D.

After the picnic, we joined MM and B for supper. I helped B by feeding Baby C. I was somewhat alarmed because MM just told me what to do (here's their bottles if they need to be fed, here's the musical mobile) and then LEFT ME! Lucky, B came to my rescue. She showed me how to hold them and I fed Baby C and burped her as she went to sleep and B fed Baby D until she went to sleep, after burping.

We had a great supper and conversation. B made one of her wonderful pies. It was a fresh berry pie, with the berries just picked the day before. She made the whipped cream with honey and marscipone. Oh so tasty!

We drove home on Monday. It wasn't quite as bad but it still took some time. The book I'd packed to read in the car on the way disappointed me. We had to stop for a bathroom break and luckily the place was one of those old fashioned trucker stops, small restaurant, etc and had a rack of used books for sale. I saw an entertaining one and read it on the way home.

Back home at last and then back to work this morning. It was absolutely roasting still. I had to walk to a meeting and took my parasol. It helped.

Next weekend, it's Fantasy Gamer Conclave! I need to go by and print out the pregen characters for Silverhex Chronicles.

I've finished tatting another two bracelets and started a third one.

"New" iPad

I found an iPad at a pawn shop. It cost as much as 16GB iPad Air but it has 128GB. On the downside, my restore from backup screwed up. On the bright side, I did find a back up to use. It's 11 months old but it's better than nothing.

I'm supposed to be running at a small con in Cary in two weeks. I think I should read the adventure. I downloaded it to my iPad today. It's a great con for charity and I always have fun.

I took some pictures of flowers after the recent round of storms. Aren't they lovely? It's great being able to take pictures again.

rose

crepe myrtle

I went to visit mom this past weekend. I'm still trying to figure out how to copy VHS to DVD. I'm not sure why it didn't work. I'm going to try with my tape player tonight.

Edging report: 38" made...the end is in sight.

Now for a serious subject. Racial colorblindness:

When white people say "I'm colorblind" they are succumbing to a fallacy. I've done so myself, so I know whereof I speak. You mean, "I don't let someone's race influence me." But what we're really saying is, "I am unaware of my own privilege."


I was thinking of a co-worker today; this coworker is one I haven't seen more than a few times. I was trying to remember what this person looks like and the thought "oh, right, African-American, guess I'm colorblind." Then my second thought was, "that's stupid. There's no such thing," and I analyzed that.

Because I'm white, I don't have to think about race. Society treats me as the default. Ignoring someone else's race isn't giving them equal treatment. It's erasing their identity and their experiences. I can go to almost any store and get appropriate hair products. An African-American woman looks in the 'ethnic' aisle. If the stores aren't colorblind, how can I be?

Happy US Independence Day

to fellow residents in the US. For those who live elsewhere, I hope you had a good early July weekend.

I spent the weekend with friends and had a very laid back weekend. My attempt to get a replacement iPad has failed. I have other places/things to try but it's very frustrating. 

My uses for iPad: take pictures of letters before I send them, so I have a record of what I wrote and what I included; keep to do list; list of books to find; list of things to look up; and check my social networks.

Our dryer is not drying as quickly. Apparently our hose repair was not as effective as we thought. Time to do some more cutting and shifting, perhaps.

Edging report: 34"

Is anyone interested in what books I've read in the past week? I used to do that, with links to the books on Amazon or the author's website.

Someone I knew a long time ago was looking for someone else and found a mention of him on my blog, in a post from 2004. She contacted me to ask me for info about him and I had to tell her I don't remember much. My mom might remember more. I'll ask her. Anyway, I read a few posts from a decade ago and realized I almost never talk about what I'm wearing anymore and rarely talk about what I've been reading.

I found this blog, and the blogger provides mandalas to color. I've started coloring mandalas as a meditation technique. I have my crayon pencils in a bag and I pull them out at random, until the bag is empty. I return them to the bag and continue to draw.

And this blog is about notable women who disappeared from history.

Events two weeks ago in Charleston, SC

And the recent arson of historically black churches in the south

If you're wondering why I'm not saying anything, it's because I'm listening. All I can do is grieve with those who have suffered, and let their voices be heard.


Remember the names of those who we lost; let the name of the shooter be 'some asshole.'

• Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd
• Susie Jackson
• Ethel Lee Lance
• Depayne Middleton-Doctor
• Clementa C. Pinckney
• Tywanza Sanders 
• Daniel Simmons
• Sharonda Coleman-Singleton
• Myra Thompson 

Briefly cooler

Thursday night we had a serious thunderstorm, complete with thunder, lightning, and hail. It shredded leaves and broke some branches but I didn't see anything more serious.

CD and I did some final work on the dryer hose. We didn't need to pull out the dryer (thank goodness), I could sit on it and pull up the new hose over the old one until it was straighter. I finally got some laundry done.

Unfortunately, I misplaced (not lost) my wallet on Saturday so that was the only useful thing I did.

I still need to check for used iPads. I want to check the local places before I check eBay. I'm tired of not being able to take pictures.

At least yesterday the high was only in the 80s and the humidity was quite lower. I sat outside for lunch on Monday and it was nice, most of the time. Too bad it won't last.

I've done the tatting for another bracelet. I think the beads are small malachite spheres and these green seed beads with a hint of blue. The thread is Vineyard Harvest (I think).

I resolved my edging issue. I cut open the ring, tied a knot and kept going. I think I have close to a yard made now.

BTW, at this point, most home doors do not simply open when you walk up to them. You have to use your key to unlock them. This brought to you by high humidity, high temperatures, and a stress-filled day.

Whoops! I forgot

Sorry, I forgot to write and post my blog post on Tuesday. I remembered two days later. To be fair, I woke up Monday with a horrible migraine. I took some painkillers, they didn't work so I called in sick. I took some more painkillers and slept away the worst of my migraine. I finally felt up to having a light on about mid-afternoon. I didn't turn on the tv until about 6 or 7 pm, I just couldn't stand the light or noise until then.

Our new hot water heater was installed last week. It took about 5 hours. I immediately hurried to work and just missed the bus. Since I had an hour before the next one would arrive, I dropped off some things (the stuff from last Tuesday) at Goodwill. Of course, the next bus was late.

Saturday was supposed to be another session of Wardens of the Reborn Forge, but one of the players was out and another player had guests. The other player brought his guests and rather than have them sit around, potentially bored, CD ran We Be Goblins, Too instead. 

Sunday, the Triangle Tatters met. There were 14 of us at the meeting. I showed a couple people something about tatting with beads and my bead spinner. I loaded some beads for another bracelet. L (of Something Under the Bed fame) brought a selection of her books and I found one I really want. It has bracelet patterns.

I decided I didn't really like the iPad Air, I wanted a regular iPad. Of course, I didn't find out the Apple store didn't actually have any, in stock or online, until after I'd returned the Air. I'm not happy about that. I guess I'll try Edward McKay, etc to find one. In the meantime, I have no camera or camera-like object, unless I pull out my 35mm. And I have no ebooks, except on my laptop.

I've gotten quite a bit done on my edging; it's more than 24" long now. But I made a mistake and I'm trying to open a ring and it's being stubborn.

The heat is supposed to break soon. I'm sick and tired of the head after ~2 weeks of heat indexes around 100F.

Watery fun

Went to see Mom this weekend. We went to Mayberry's again. They have such good hot dogs and such good ice cream.

As I was getting out of my car, I fumbled and dropped my iPad. The screen cracked so badly there were a couple glass fragments caught in the case cover. I had to replace. Considering the 90-day warranty on a replacement or getting a 2-year warranty on a brand new one...I bought an iPad Air. It's lighter, which is nice. But none of my cases fit. And I'm going through set up pains again. Thank goodness for restore from backup.

Our hot water heater's gone out. I've been taking cold showers, quickly. Cold showers are nice in the summer, but not first thing in the morning. I definitely don't like to wash my hair in cold water. I was going to work late today, so I could be here for the replacement. But we've been stashing stuff in the basement and there wasn't room to wheel a new hot water heater into place. C and I spent most of the day going through stuff. It's something I've been meaning to do so for some time, but not all at once.

Tomorrow the guy arrives to take away the old one and install the new one. And I will go take a hot shower and wash my hair. Thank goodness my boss understands and I had nothing urgent to do at work.

These are the earrings I made at the demo at Mordecai House. The spheres are serpentine beads. I can't remember the thread name.

My parents' wedding photo from 1960. They separated in c. 1974.

A Brief Flash of Spring

A couple days this past week had me wearing long sleeves and thinking about jackets. Then summer resumed.

Triangle Tatters did a demo at Mordecai House. We were in the Visitor Center and a few people came in to talk to us, watch us tat, and see what we had displayed. Katie brought out the quilt. It really is a magnificent piece.

There were 4 of us, really

Mordecai House; my view at lunch

I've finished sewing the edging onto one end of my scarf/shawl. It only took two tries to get it right. I started the edging for the other end. I also worked on the same bracelet, but the beads were all wrong. I finally made a pair of earring using the serpentine spheres and seed beads. Then I started a bracelet using just the seed beads, although I'm going to try to use one of the serpentine beads for a toggle catch.I'm contemplating a pendant to match. Maybe another State Fair entry?














The salvage guy never contacted me about my Saturn. I thought he was going to be faster. Since he's not, I've contacted PBS about donating my car. Hopefully, it will all be over by the end of the week.

Sunday, CD and I went looking for milkshakes. It's surprisingly hard to find an ice cream parlor or other place I knew had good milkshakes. There are no more Swenson's around here, and no Mayberry's nearby. Turns out, CookOut has pretty good milkshakes and we passed one while driving around.

A Week Older

A week since my birthday and I'm getting used to saying I'm 47 years old. Of course, by the time I'm really used to it, I'll be 48. And I still have birthday cake (from the cake my coworkers got me on Tuesday).

Friday, I took the day off to meet my dad for 'lunch.' We met at 9:30 and had breakfast. Then we kept talking until we went to lunch. He had found some old negatives from when he and Mom got married. There were pictures of the first house they rented after they got married and pictures of Aunt Carole and Uncle Dick, and cousin Beth, and Grandma and Grandpa. There was also this wedding portrait.

My parents, on their wedding day

Dad also gave me my birthday present. I now have a gift card to Michael's. Bwahahaha.


I 'found' the empty light on the gas gauge of my new Honda. Now I know when to expect it.

I spent over an hour Saturday morning looking for my phone. I left it on the charger on Friday and took it off when I got home. I thought I slipped it into my purse, but when I looked I couldn't find it. I checked other possible locales, then looked through my purse again, repeat a couple more times. I took a break to see if thinking of other things would bring it to mind. Emptied my purse and looked through it again. Finally went 'duh, use the landline and call my phone.' Listen, listen, hang up, call again, and yes, it was in my purse. It had been concealed by a fold of fabric in a pocket.

The actual drive didn't go much better. I missed my exit but that's no big deal, I just took the next one. It's been awhile since I took that one and I missed the turn that would quickly put me on the road I wanted. FYI, the road I was on is a curved, winding 2-lane 45mph road, often with trees or farms on either side. I noticed an oddity for the area, a trio of bicyclists. You never saw them on this road while I was growing up.

I was careful and went by them. Then I passed another one. Then two more. Then three more, and another one. Then a quartet, and a single. After the 1st two groups, I was thinking bike tour. By the time, I'd passed a dozen, I'm thinking, bike race of some kind. Especially as I saw of quintet of bikers ahead. I gave up and turned off.

I proceeded to get thoroughly lost. My hometown was laid out logically, once up on a time. Now? Not so much. At one point, I ended up on a highway; what I thought was a right turn was an on-ramp. When I hit downtown and saw another trio of bikers, I gave up and called my mom for help. She gave me some direction and I finally made it, in time for us to go to lunch.

I worked on this post Tuesday night, but something went wrong and nothing saved after this point and I've had to rewrite it. Oh well.

Mom and I had a nice visit. We took some things to a church who is active in helping those people in economically distressed areas. The next day we hit the thrift shops so I could find another pair of jeans and maybe a couple more pairs of pants to wear to work. I also found a fabulous toy gun that is begging to be transformed into something steampunk.

I mailed some snowflakes to Palmetto Tat Guild, to be part of their fundraising for the Tat Days scholarships they offer.

I left the threads in case they were needed for hangers. The snowflakes are from Kaye Judt's Oh My Stars book.

 Tuesday night, I had a nice date with CC. We had supper and conversation. We've gotten to know the waitress and when she's not busy, we include her in the conversation.

Afterward, I started sewing the edging onto one end of the scarf/shawl. It's about half an inch too long. I have since removed the edging and I will attempt to ease it to fit. If wait until the last, like I did last night, it bunches awkwardly.

Happy Memorial Day (US)

It's not really a happy holiday, but it is a good time to recognize the sacrifice of men and women in uniform and their families. I hope you took at least a few minutes to remember them.

No Deadlands game this week, the GM had tickets to a showing of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me and for some reason he felt that was more important. Poozer. (joking of course)

Saturday was a meeting of our local tatters. I showed Rosemary (one day I should learn her last name) how to tat with beads. She's working her way through Kay Judt's book of stars. I also brought a box of thread to share (thanks, Stephanie). There were balls of size 10 and size 80.

On Sunday, C had a pie class. He brought home sample of his strawberry-rhubarb pie and it was delicious. I hope he makes it again. After that, we dropped off a bag to Goodwill, some books to sell at a UBS, and finished emptying my Saturn. I had forgotten to empty the glove compartment. No one keeps gloves there anymore, did you notice?

One of the errand we ran was to try and get my purse fixed. It's a teardrop purse, cross body sling, of leather and nylon. It's an excellent bag but the back of the strap is nylon and wearing to pieces. The guy took one look and said, 'nope, can't do anything with this.' I think he could have, if he had asked what I wanted him to do. I didn't expect him to replace that lining, I wanted him to sew leather over it. Ah well. I have sewn fabric over it and hopefully that will work. (pictures to be added later)

Monday, C and I went by Jo-Anne's so he could buy my birthday present. He bought me a new pair of embroidery scissors. They didn't have exactly what I wanted and if I hadn't gone with him, he would have had no idea what to get for me.

For supper, we met some friends at Casa San Carlo. I had wanted sushi but the sushi place was closed. It's not exactly a hardship to go to Casa San Carlo instead. I had the blue crab ravioli again. And for appetizers we had escargot and the fried mozzarella. By getting leftovers, I had enough room for a slice of the orange patron cake. So. Very. Good. RG had my birthday presents; a copy of How to Get Dressed, Mer World Problems (coloring book), and a corner paper punch. She did very well, didn't she. The funny thing is, they arrived at her house while I was visiting her. She had paid for all 3 to be gift wrapped but only two of them were. I had to plug my ears and hum while she called customer service to get a refund. They handled it quickly and well, at least. But they taped the wrapping to the book. SACRILEGE!

DR gave me a gift certificate to B and N. Hmm, books, how did he know?

Today, my co-workers took me out for lunch and my supervisor brought in chocolate cake. I brought half of it home.

Summer is Here

It's gotten hot. It's still cool enough at lunch, most days, to enjoy sitting outside in the shade if there is any kind of breeze. I've almost caught up on my responses to letters. I still have more to write.

Our Mermaid Adventures game got cancelled. M had a birthday party sleepover to attend. C. R, and I played Lord of the Rings Online instead.

I've been doing a little tatting. The hearts are for tsocky, she has cancer. If you don't know who she is, she's a marvelous knitting designer, known for her incredible socks. She's a genuinely good person.

 The bracelets are just a couple I finished this week. They're currently blocked and drying.

Have you heard or seen the YouTube series Sh%t Southern Women Say? I listen to it, going 'never heard that, I've said that, mom's said that,' etc.

Fun and Games

C, RG, RW, MC, and I are playing a Pathfinder module. C is running. I'm playing an elf bard (diplomat), RW is playing a dwarf fighter, MC is plying an elf technomancer (wizard with some tech added, like electricity, etc), and RG is playing a human oracle/paladin. RW is doing an excellent job of role playing his dwarf's low charisma.

RW has started playing Lord of the Rings online, with me, RG, and C. We try to play together once a week. RW has a kid so, of course, childcare gets priority.

I am unloading my Saturn. I had let things accumulate, so I am taking this opportunity to get rid of some stuff and decide, 'do I really need/want this?'

Tropical Storm Anna hasn't done much here, just rain, rain, break in the rain, and rain. She's our first named storm of the season and she's really early. Is that an indication of how bad this storm season is going to be?

I'm still packing my lunch every day. Car payments have really cut into my spending cash.

Car Shopping

Looking for a new (used) car is not really my idea of entertainment. I know something about cars, but I don't remember when put on the spot. I've been looking on-line but you can't get a feel for the cars. Plus, I want a standard transmission and that's getting harder and harder to find; unless you're buying a new car and make it part of your build.

However, my 22-year-old Saturn broke the timing chain. It can be repaired but at this point, it's cheaper to buy a new car. I spent about a week shopping around on-line. It gave me an idea of prices, at least. But I all the sites I looked at wanted me to narrow to manufacturer and make first thing. My wants are quite basic: electric or hybrid (which are still too expensive for me or the ones I can afford won't do what I need them to do), sedan/small car, four-doors, cruise control, anti-lock brakes, and a good maintenance record. I finally just landed on one that had a good maintenance record and looked at those.

On Saturday, C and I went to Crown Honda to see what they had. The salesman was good, he took us to one that was in my price range and below my mileage limit. I test drove it. Cars have changed in the 17 years between the manufacture of my Saturn and the 2010 Honda Civic I drove. The one I dislike, but accept, is the larger bar between side window and windshield. Apparently, that's where an airbag is stored so it's not going away. I'll just have to duck and bob when looking that way. It's smaller than my Saturn, both in body length and in trunk.

Having the speedometer right below the field of view through the windshield is great. Daytime running lights are a good thing, although no substitute for using headlights in poor visibility conditions, like fog or rain. As a new(er) car, the gas and brakes are more sensitive than on my Saturn.

Here's my new car. I had my Saturn for 20 years. It's going to take time for me to adjust to the new car. And hello, car payments.

I have 32 inches of my edging made. Soon, I'll have to start comparing it to the scarf to make sure it's the right length. I'll have to make a decision then, sew on one end or leave it until both ends are ready.

I took part in the spring walk/run at work on Friday. It's 1.5 mile walk or 3 mile run. There was a group of 4 people behind me. Everyone else was in front of me. At certain points in the walk, I could have been completely alone. I'm glad I took my iPod. And while it was raining a bit, it never poured. I don't have any pictures from the walk because my iPad would have been awkward.

Despite the fact I missed seeing Ironman 3, I went with friends (C, R, & JJ) to see Avengers: Age of Ultron on Sunday. We went to an Irish pub for supper. We had quite good service, even with the less than obvious stuff, like turning down the music when we asked. I quite enjoyed the movie, even with some problematic stuff, which is open to interpretation by the viewer.

New desk phones at work. Something else to get used to. These are computerized, to the point there's a way to restart them.

And I hop everyone had a good May Day.

Depression

hit me hard this week. Stress is part of it. My car died and budgeting for car payments is scary.

This night though, tonight got very rough. C was out tonight, it's our separate night. That's cool. But tonight, on G+ someone mentioned reading the eulogies for a deceased colleague and wondering what hers would say, what contributions has she made.

Me? I'm a secretary. I'm a pretty good one but not even a top secretary. I haven't made any great impact. The world would barely even ripple at my passing. Depression tells me how better off everyone would be if I weren't here anymore. Don't worry, I won't commit suicide. That's too much effort. Lots of people suffer depression, if more people are open about, maybe there'll be less stigma.

I've been doing my self care since my car died. I knew it was having a negative impact. I've had that car for twenty years. I've avoided reading negative or upsetting news in depth, are every meal, even went outside for some nature therapy, and tried to walk more.

Sorry if this is disjointed. I'm not at my best right now. But here, it's my new nails.

And an iris

Weekend with Mom

Last week's storms did a number on me. All the pressure fronts plus the high pollen meant waking up with headaches and migraines all week. Except Thursday morning which was an all out light and sound show, courtesy of Mother Nature. Thursday night was almost as loud, but with more rainfall. Friday morning, I don't think my alarm clock ever turned on (the radio turns on to wake me up, I can't stand the noise alerts).

I went to the re-dedication of the Gift on Friday. It was lovely and I got to see Senora Lynch again. She and her family are such lovely people.

This website lists the best restaurants, county by county. I do kind of wonder how they came to their choices.

Last week I also discovered Sh%t Southern Women Say. Many of these things I have never said (I've never been in a pageant, or a cheerleader, or a debutante). But many of them I have said or have heard said.

I have some pictures of the pollen (as seen through my windshield).

Just a little pollen

Pollen, after I ran the windshield wipers

International Tatting Day

Was Wednesday, April 1st. I had a meeting that morning so I did some tatting there. My edging is going pretty well. The beads can be a bit fiddly as I keep them out of my tatting, until I need them. Too bad this photo washes out the colors.

I've been wearing the new leggings and tights I bought. It's so nice having some variety there.

I had Friday off from work. I had PLANS. Okay, I had three things to do; some cleaning and laundry, mending a skirt, and more work on my edging. I got a load of laundry done. I didn't even get caught up on my recorded shows. And it turns out I'm out of black thread. I bought some on Monday.

Tonight is date night with CC. I think both of us will need to vent.

And for some reason this post did not publish. Sorry, everyone.

NC Regional Lacemakers and other stuff

Saturday was the yearly meeting of the NC Regional Lacemakers. I finished the last baby bootie. I attended Karen Kurella's talk about what to do with old lace and how to identify machine made versus handmade. There were many of the local tatters there and Tatting Corner came down from Indiana. I think we may have made it worth the drive, even with it only being for one day.

I have decided what to make for my State Fair project. I have a lovely, lightweight cotton scarf/wrap in blues, purple and pink. I found thread to match and I'm going to put an edging on both ends. It needs the weight to keep it from floating off. The edging is number 18 from Anne Orr's book number 13. I'll be using silver/white beads for a little extra weight. Optional, add motifs to the corners.

I recommended Kaye Judt's Oh My Stars to a new tatter. It's quite nice for its stage by stage pattern progression. The first star is very simple, rings and chains. It includes front side, back side tatting; pictot-size, etc. Each pattern introduces a new technique. The new tatter got started and was absolutely thrilled with it.

I got to show off my bead spinner. I used it to load the beads for my new edging. I also told how to make one, per Martha Ess's instructions from the 2013 Palmetto Tat Days.

I did not get as much done on Sunday as I had planned. I still need to mend that skirt. However, I cannot find my Gingher embroidery scissors! I hope I haven't really lost them, that I just dropped them in my living room (under the couch, maybe?).

Thursday's Deadlands game went well. Our steamship departed Shan Fan in something of a hurry and the captain was working on ways to smooth over things with the city government so she could go back. She planned to do so by faking our deaths. There goes a set of Alis's clothes. We had just reached a comparatively peaceful pool of water, after a somewhat harrowing passage through rough water, when a maze dragon attacked. Those things are pretty much bulletproof, but their eyes are still vulnerable. And they are not really-big-rock proof, as the Doctor (mad scientist) proved when he dropped one on it.

I'm currently working my way through the Phryne Fisher mysteries by Kerry Greenwood. I enjoy them, even if I have to work out some of the words from their context. Or look them up in a dictionary. 1920's era Australian slang is just a touch different than early 21st century American slang. I've read the books before, I'm re-reading.

I took this picture outside the Seymour Center (where NCRL had their meeting). I posted it on G+ for my friends who are feeling spring-deprived.

Late but not forgotten

Great time with CC. I gave her her Christmas present, a handmade blank journal. She loves that sort of thing. She gave me an afghan knitting loom. It can go up to 60" wide. I'd been thinking about making a shawl,this will spur me on.

My wristlets are making progress (Vine Wristers by Isela Phelps). I'm at the thumb hole. I think my tension is tighter than Ms. Phelps and my hands are larger. Which explains why I need 15 repeats and not 9.

















And all done, with a better look at colors. I need to block it and sew it closed with buttons.

Here's the ring I made for a fellow gamer. She needed a distraction, so I told her I would make one for her. I hope it's the right size.

I've been playing with washi tape. This was a nice cardboard box, but plain. It's not plain anymore.

DST recovery

It takes me about a week to recover from the change in Daylight Savings Time. Suddenly, I'm waking up in the dark again. Add recovery from a cold (yes, it's lingering in the form of an occasional cough) in with that and I am dragging.

This is the book Louise sent me. She's the wife of Dad's college roommate. It's circa 1946. I sent her a thank you card over the weekend.

This is the other book I got in the mail. I supported the kickstarter for it. And then found out the writer works on campus, too.

2 ogres down, 4 more and an ettin to go

This is from our game Saturday. That hand belongs to our wizard, whose figure is almost visible behind his forearm. He was measuring his range for a spell. Next to the ettin are the other three of us. The dwarf fighter had just finished two ogres and was coming to help us. It was a 'good fight' as another player puts it. I was at half hit points most of the fight. The game is Pathfinder. This Saturday, I'll be playing Mermaid Adventures, with almost the same crowd.

After the game, we went to Casa San Carlo. Their food is so good. For once, I did not have the blue crab ravioli. I had the portobello ravioli in marsala wine sauce.

Red sky in morning, Sailor take warning

The mother of a friend from high school is sick. As in, she's in the hospital sick. She used to let us play D&D on her dining table, back in the day. She made us include his younger brother, but J had a bigger problem with letting him play than I did. I made this for her as a 'get well' gift, including it in a Get Well card. I mailed it yesterday.

From Georgia Seitz's site, color is Red Burst

clover, from mariyas-tatting.blogspot.com color is Leaf Green, light

On my way out the door this morning, I realized the green on my shirt was more teal. So I grabbed the first ball of green thread I found, did a quick search for clover patterns and made this on the way in to work. In my meeting today, I made two more. I need to practice my split chains some more.

Google 'awesome'd' it

On my way into work, I stopped to take this picture. And the Google back up transformed it to a b&w photo.

Tonight is my date with CC. We usually have it the first Tuesday, but I was sick and the second Tuesday she had a meeting. I'm looking forward to it.

I Am Teary-Eyed

Sir Terry Pratchett died today. We lost Leonard Nimoy and that was a blow. But I've read most of Pratchett's books, over and over. He spoke to me and he was a part of my life in a way no actor, no matter how gifted an individual, can be. We lost my grandmother to Alzheimer's and years later she died. I read a book on Alzheimer's and it was a good book, just hard to read sometimes. That creates an extra resonance to his death.

My cold pretty much wiped out my productivity. I haven't done anything with the baby booties since the tatting meetings. I tried to make a cross for a friend's sick mother. Here's a tip, if you are making alterations to a pattern, note those changes on a copy of the pattern. This tip brought to you by the fact that three-armed crosses are not a thing.

I thought I was caught up on my correspondence yesterday. Then I found two more letters which need replies. I feel bad because based on where I found them, I had planned to reply to them before the others I wrote early this week.

My copy of Night Witches arrived this week. I will be taking it to gaming tonight. DR and SR (no relation) both want to see it. And funny enough, I'll be having lunch with the designer tomorrow. We work really close to each other, it turns out.

It's a short wall of text this week. Sorry.

Late, oops

Sorry this week's post is late. I blame DST. I'll see if I can get it written and posted during lunch tomorrow.