On Time This Week

A bit of a struggle this weekend. I managed to get some laundry done on Saturday but not much else. I went with CD as he ran errands and I started some kumihimo. I desparately needed a creative outlet but tatting and loom knitting required too much brain power. And I had been wanting to try a kumihimo pattern. However, I used the satin rattail I've used before, but before it was an 8-strand pattern and this one on Sunday was a 16-strand. It turned out a liiiiittle larger than I expected.

Pencil is for size comparison

Mom bought me some cords at the thrift shop. There are a couple leather cords so I made another one. Since my colors were limited (2 short strands, in separate colors, and 2 longer colors), I went to a webpage that helps me plan it. I ended up using all but part of 1 color. I ended up with 3 colors making a spiral stripe against the background of the 4th color.

Tomorrow is the Employee Forum retreat. I plan to have some tatting ready, to work on as fidget work. I have to work on that now.

Although I also finally blocked my stitch gauge swatch. Now I need to measure it to calculate my stitches.

Late, but Hey, It was a holiday

We had our Deadlands game on Thursday. DC's son joined us, playing an NPC as a PC. We started causing trouble, by releasing a T Rex in the enemy's camp. Hey, they created the thing, they can deal with it.

Saturday's tatting demo was cancelled so I just did some stuff around the house.

Monday was very slow. I got most of my work done by noon and after that I just answered the phone and dealt with a couple visitors.

The edible garden in front of work is going well. The tomatoes and peppers are growing nicely.

Tuesday, the 4th, I spent relaxing. In the evening, I had supper with CC. MB was supposed to join us, as she's been trying to do for months, but she's still unpacking from a recent move. Despite sleeping 10 hours Monday night, I was exhausted by the time I got home.

I found a neat crosswalk just off campus. It amuses me.

Wednesday was volunteering at the Carolina Campus Community Garden. The Employee Forum sponsored the workday, so I had to be there early to meet the caterers. Employee Forum provided tea, lemonade, fruit, and snacks. I took pictures with Claire's camera. I did get a few with my iPad, though.

Today, my boss and I had a meeting with the finance people about how to do travel vouchers. It's a new process but it looks pretty simple. And we got a look at the new form which may go live as soon as Monday.

I am finally washing my stitch gauge piece. Once it's blocked, I'll count the stitches and plan my mock cable wristlets. I made another ice drop but made a poor choice in thread color and it's kind of meh.

It's Cooler this Week

It's not cool; just cooler. And it finally stopped raining.

Went to see Mom. We had a nice lunch and then I had to rush home to try and beat the rain (I failed). I cannot seem to find a floor lamp for her. I did find some beige socks (she can't stand white socks with brown loafers) and some other things she wanted.

Sunday, CD and I ran errands. And we went to see  Guardians of the Galaxy, vol 2. It was entertaining. I don't think it passed the Bechdel test, but there was at least one conversation between two women, not involving a man in their lives.

 I delivered the bouquets I made for Kathy. She seemed to like them. Yay! I didn't tell her I included 21 instead of 20.

I  started another ice drop. It's going to be...colorful. I did work on the red linen thread bracelet but my hands really need to be dry for that.

CD's mom gave me a box of old tatting thread.

The power cord for my tablet that I use overnight isn't working very well. I'm lucky to get a few percent points of battery charges (like 14% to 18% is good). I think the part that actually plugs into the outlet is dead.

Here's the knit cat I made. I finished knitting an icord for the tail. I haven't attached it yet.

assorted photos

more coloring

Yep, It's Summer

The weather is hot, humid, and subject to afternoon thunderstorms. I'm wearing my crocs so if I do get caught in the rain, I won't ruin my shoes.

I'm still reading Blue Rose. I'm into the world description, now.

CD's mom found this for me. I think they're c. 1950 or older.

My stepmom asked me to make some red, white, and blue tatted bouquets for her. I think for her auxiliary group? She didn't tell me but she wants 20, in her hands by July 7th. I figure if I got them done by the 30th and in the mail that day, they should get to her in time. I currently have 19 done.

I went to a friend's anniversary party on Saturday. It was supposed to be at a picnic area, but thunderstorms drove us indoors. It was a lovely time and this is the cake. Isn't it just gorgeous? I forgot to note the name of the bakery.

Sunday was the Tri'tatters meeting. There were only five of us. That's probably connected to it being Fathers' Day. I was late ordering Dad's present so he'll get it this week, hopefully.

Friday, I went to the UNC and the Great War exhibit at the Wilson Library at UNC-CH. I only took a few pictures. I think the trim here is crochet.

They had an interactive kiosk. It played music and speeches.

Look, nature.

Missed a week, oops

We played Deadlands after my last post. The GM, DR, says our game is between 2 and 20 sessions to go before the final resolution. We were debating what game to play next and decided on Blue Rose. I had mentioned on social media that I had a concept for my next fantasy character, inspired by Mrs. Pollifax. I want to play a middle-aged woman whose children are grown with their own lives and she fulfills her young dream of becoming an adventurer. With Blue Rose, she can become a government agent, a la Valdemar Herald. The GM had gotten his copy of Blue Rose and he thought that character would work fabulously. We're still playing the Deadlands game (although CD will miss this week's game), though.

Saturday (the 3rd) was the Tri-tatters doing their part of living history at Mordecai House in Raleigh. We were on the house porch this time instead of at the visitor center. I took a break to talk to the cook/soapmaker. The theme was roses and she made rose short bread and rose scented soap. She's very nice and I look forward to talking to her again. Unlike us, she was dressed for the era.

I did finish an ice drop and finally made good progress on the sea glass pendant after another false start. I used the technique from Anitra's turtle but had to play with the stitch count to get it to work.

Tri-Tatters at Mordecai (I missed getting KV)

Tri-tatters at Mordecai (can you tell where I was sitting?)

sea glass pendant

 Sunday, CD and I made a flying visit to mom to fix her phone. And her DVD player. And her Kindle. They all had the same issue, no power. The outlet the phone charger was plugged into was controlled by a switch, which was frequently off. So the phone wasn't charging. The power strip where the DVD player and Kindle were plugged had come unplugged from the wall. Easy fix, luckily.

Afterward, CD and I went to DSW. My sandals broke on Memorial Day and I needed a new pair. In theory, I could have fixed the broken strap, but that wouldn't fix the other problems (sole wearing out, etc). I bought new sandals, and on mom's advice I bought two of the same.

Tuesday the 6th was the big Blood Drive at UNC. I volunteered at check in and then grabbed a bite to eat before going to donate. It meant I was out of the office most of the day but I was helpful. My donation went well.

The same evening was my monthly date with CC. We went to DSW. I wanted to see if they had the multi-color sandal in the same style in my size. Alas, they did not. But I did buy a pair of shoes to replace my tennis shoes, when they finish dying. They were really expensive shoes, but on clearance meant they cost as much as an expensive (for me) tennis shoes. CD said she bought a pair of shoes of the same brand and they lasted 25 years. Breaking down the cost per year, they'll be cheaper in the long run.

I also fell to the croc side. They're work suitable and really comfy. Except if  the 3rd time you ever wear them you walk 10+ minutes in the heat and then get sand in your shoe and you don't immediately rinse them out, they are not so comfy.

Wednesday night we went out for my birthday supper. We were going to Casa San Carlo, but they're closed for renovations. Instead, we went to Tokyo House. JJ came, CD of course, RG, DR, SR and her husband SR, and at the last minute I asked CC and her SO came, too. I will say, Tokyo House did a great job and the service was very good.

However, right before I left work on Wednesday some stuff came up for mom's financial stuff. Very stressful. Thursday, I thought I got it temporarily resolved, at least until they got my POA processed. Except, they apparently didn't. As I found out late Friday.

Saturday, I just rested and relaxed. I desperately needed a recuperation day. Sunday, CD and I went to pick up comics, manga, and game books. We hadn't been to our FLGS and had orders to pick up.

Later, CD, CC, her SO, and her friend D all went to see Wonder Woman. There were a couple 'why did they do that?' moments but overall I really liked it. There were not incompetent characters, just competent at different things with different strengths and weaknesses. Even Etta wasn't played for laughs. She had some very funny lines but she wasn't comic relief.

Monday, I took a long lunch and took care of mom's stuff in person. There were phone calls to make and I did some follow up today and I'm doing more tomorrow. But there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

Palmetto Tat Days registration is open. I need to do that tonight.

Here are some random photos. I've done some coloring pages and isn't this a huge thistle?

And if ever wonder what manspreading is? This is it. That's a 3 person bench. You can see a woman squeezed at one edge and this guy is taking up 2 spaces. If the bus wasn't crowded, I wouldn't care. But it was quite crowded that day.

And here's an ice drop in the Spice Cake (like the sea glass pendant) and a heart.

Looong Weekend

Thursday was my natal anniversary, aka birthday. I decided to take it as a vacation day. And since it was the Thursday before a holiday weekend, I took Friday off as well. This was a good plan.

Thursday, CD also took the day off and we just spent time together. We went out to lunch, played games, and just enjoyed each others' company.

Friday, I went to get my jewelry cleaned. This used to be a minor task. CD bought insurance on my jewelry when he bought it from a chain. I take it to get cleaned and inspected every 6 months and all repairs are free. Except. The two closest stores closed. On the bright side, the next closest store is in Greensboro.

After, I met part of my family for lunch. They picked a place close to where I was going to be and close to the highway, so I could make my way home again. It was a lovely. Dad and K gave me a bracelet he bought in Texas in 1977. It's turquoise and coral chip Kokopellis silver cuff bracelet. They also gave me a book about the Acoma people. They gave me a phenomenal photo of some Acoma pottery for Christmas.

CD gave me the soundtracks for the 1st two Hobbit movies and RG gave me Elle King's cd, and a book from my Amazon list.

Saturday was TriTatters. I managed to make one ice drop and got some sea glass from Carolyn. I started an ice drop with one of those but they are larger than my usual glass and I'm adjusting to fit. I don't think I've made it large enough.

I want this book (one of the tatters brought it to the meeting)

It was a lovely meeting. I helped someone with a current project and showed her how to make Martha Ess's half-braid bracelet. She wants to make one for her daughter, to recognize her daughter's getting her prize job. The tatter, we'll call her R, is still learning and this is a pattern well within her skills. She was so thrilled. I love helping people like that.

Sunday was Pathfinder, Tears at Bitter Manor again. We haven't played since February and one of our players had to bow out (his wife is sick - I hope it's nothing serious, but he just wanted to be there for her). We played without him but we spent lots of time socializing and didn't get a lot of play in. We did get through 2 battles and I almost killed the barbarian. Concentrated fire is very bad. Of course, I targeted her because she was the most likely to survive.

Monday, a few of us got together and did some computer gaming in Lord of the Rings Online. It was lots of fun. We hadn't had a chance to play together in ages.

Today, a new staff person joined us at work. I finally have another woman in the office.

Pictures

more pages from the coloring calendar

storm clouds

mock cable stitch gauge in progress

Ummm, really late post?

In the end, I didn't get the pictures until the weekend, so I decided to just post today.

I went to see mom for Mothers' Day. The day before was a bit stressful.

I went to get my car inspected while CD got the oil changed in his. Of course, both of us had stuff come up. Most of mine was recommended maintenance, not OH WOW GET IT DONE NOW, which is nice. I got some of it done. However, the stuff CD needed took a bit longer. So I said, I'd grab his stuff and take him to his Tai Chi class. Except, I somehow managed to bring the wrong bag. Instead, we went to lunch.

The dealer said his car was done so I took CD back. He could pay for the repairs, get his car, we could transfer his stuff to his car and make the afternoon class. Except 'ready now' meant still on the rack. By the time they got it down, etc, CD had missed that class, too. Quite a bummer.

I had to go shopping to get some stuff for mom. I had ordered a portable DVD player for her. I had to make sure I knew how it worked, get it charged, etc, so I could show her how to work it. I bought some of the other stuff on her list while I was out.

Mom loves her DVD player. It's not very big, but she watch her DVDs again and that's the important part. I'd found those half-dozen Last of the Summer Wine DVDs and she hadn't even seen them yet. I ask her if she remember how to use it when I call her and if necessary go over it with her. I specifically found one that's easy to use.

The Deadlands game on Thursday had one player missing. She and her husband were out of town. Since she plays our heavy hitter, we decided to avoid combat. The son of one of the other players came. He's a pretty good player.

I finished the tatting on a bracelet. And I've gotten past 2" on my stitch gauge for my mock cable wristlets.

One of my friends drew this and posted it, I colored it

Still later post

I am trying to download pictures from my iPad. Once I get that done, I'll post.

Late post

because my laptop is misbehaving and typing an entire post on my tablet would drive me nuts.