May 14, 2012

Marvelous Monday Update 5/14/12

BOOK GIVEAWAY
A couple months ago, I received "A Thousand Lives" by Julia Scheeres from Calliope's Reviews and Stitching News.  I was very young when the Jonestown disaster happened so I really didn't know too much about it. The author does a good job of bringing Jim Jones and his followers to life. The book reads more like a novel than a nonfiction book.  Considering the topic, it was an easy quick read. If you are interested in reading this book, leave a comment saying so, and I'll mail it to you.

HEALTH
I had yet another chiro appointment last week. My arm was aching so bad after the adjustment, the chiro had the assistant give me an inferential (electro stimulation) treatment.  After that, I had my second massage appointment. She found yet another muscle that was really-really tight... behind my armpit, of all places!  I'm sure it was contributing to the pain in the arm area.  Good news!  I was able to sleep through the night without waking up and panting like a dog with extreme pain in my arm and having to sit up until it subsided. I must be getting better, right? I hope so!

STITCHY STUFF
Remember my dilemma from last week? The "frog poop" (as Dee affectionately called it) left over from the red threads.  Tape, toothbrush, boo-boo stick, and even stitching/frogging with white didn't help at all.


Desperation drove me to try anything. A stroke of genius came to me! I put a drop of Dawn dish soap on the spot along with a bit of water. After rubbing the fabric against itself vigorously, the frog poop came out. Woo Hoo!


Since my neck/shoulder/arm has been giving me trouble, I've slowed way down on the stitching (and housework, and yard work, and Homestead projects).  I did start a small project for the Ornament SAL since I'm two months behind!  The chart and threads are from a Needle Magic kit.  The fabric is 22ct Hardanger I hand-dyed last year.


THEATRE
The BF took me to see Nana's Naughty Knickers at the theatre over the weekend. Don'tcha just love the title? LOL  It was a comedy where Bridgette (a law student) goes to stay with her grandmother for the summer.  The visit quickly turns into an experience she will never forget when she finds out Nana is running an illegal lingerie boutique for the over 60 crowd out of her rent-controlled apartment.  Cases of mistaken identity, police involvement, and even lingerie modeling had the audience rolling in their seats.

COMPOSTING
I finally picked out a spot in the backyard to set up the compost bin. I've been saving food scraps for about a week.  I made a kitchen compost "bucket" so that I won't be making constant trips outside.  I store it under my sink and surprisingly with the help of a charcoal kitty litter pan filter, it doesn't smell at all.  I recently received a newsletter with composting basics so I brushed up on the composting do's and don'ts. Talk about great timing.  So far all I've put in it is some shredded newspaper, kitchen scraps, grass clippings, and old potting soil.  At this rate, it's going to be a while before I get the "black gold", lol.

STASH ORGANIZING
Given that I'm on somewhat of a stitching hiatus, the second best thing is fondling stash, right? Right!  I've had Organized Expressions software for quite a while and at one time did start cataloging my stash, but several computers later I've managed to lose what little I entered.  I figured while I was fondling my stash, I may as well enter it into the program.  What I think is cool is the fact I can print the reports to Excel (or Word) with the attributes I want and then manipulate the data.  The program also allows me to attach a photo of the charts, magazines, floss, beads, etc. as well as the cost for each.  I can also enter other inventory things such as stitching tools like scroll rods, qnsaps, scissors, etc.  It takes a while, but I'm thinking it will be nice when I have everything in there.  The downside is that the software hasn't been updated since 2007.  So far, I've only entered about 60 charts and kits.

As I go through my stash, I'm purging.  If you're in need of a stash fix, visit my Stash-For-Sale blog.  I've added a few things.

Until next time,

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love your blog today - I would love a copy of the book, "A thousand lives"

Nancy said...

Hi Meari, Just a word of advise from a massage therapist. Get the massage and then go right away and see the chiropractor. This way the muscles are loosen up and he/she can do the adjustments and it will stay in place longer as the muscles are not so tight. It does sound as if you are getting better but if you are going to do more computer work until you can stitch, then make sure your computer is ergonomically correctly placed. Especially if you are using a laptop. Oh and make sure that you keep icing that shoulder especially the parts where the tight muscles are as they might not necessarily be where the pain is. Get rid of the inflammation. Also drinking cherry juice may help with the inflammation also. Looking forward to seeing progress when you can stitch again.

Faith... said...

So glad you got the poop out! The fabric you dyed is beautiful. I so want to try dying my own but not sure if I could do it!

Good luck at cataloging your stash, sounds like a big job.

Berly said...

Yay, the pain is going away!!! I'm so glad - I know how much that hurts!

Denise SA said...

So glad the pain is getting less. Hope you can be back to stitching soon. Interesting about the composting think I need to give this a try.

Chris said...

A good night's sleep makes everything better. I hope for your continued improvement.
Glad the "poop" is gone. lol!
Good luck with the organizing. I wish that I could come up with a good system.
Have a wonderful week!

Mel said...

Ohh... I should totally look into that stash form thing. I could really use one. But then it might take forever to update it. lol.

Glad you're getting some relief for your arm and I'm sure you'll be back to stitching in no time! :)

Katie said...

Glad to hear your pain might be easing. It's about time!

Love the term "frog poop". So glad you finally got rid of it. The partridge you stitched is too cute.

Good luck with composting and organizing your stash.

Sandie said...

Glad the shoulder is getting better. Don't rush it but don't sit doing nothing while you wait for it to be less sore. Cherry juice does help. I put my kits and chart stash onto an Excel spreadsheet, but I don't think I've updated it in about 3 years! OOPS!

Carol said...

It's so good to read that your pain is finally dissipating, Meari--sure hope it disappears altogether very soon. Getting a good night's sleep is so key to recovery!

Glad you got the remnants of the frog's visit removed from your pretty stitching! What a relief. I hear you on being behind on your ornament stitching. I still haven't done mine from April or May! Way too many outside activities to do this time of year...

Enjoy your stash organizing :) I love stuff like that, too...sometimes as much as the actual stitching!

Anonymous said...

I am glad that your pain is getting less and pray that it continues to do so. Great that you got the frog poop out...I have always used Dawn on my finished stitching pictures to clean them...works great. Your stitching is as always beautiful..hugs..Linda J.

EvalinaMaria said...

I'm glad you were able to remove that frog poop. You are a true genius! Your stitching is lovely.

Do you have a good chair at work? A few years ago I had a problem with my right shoulder. I asked our client (deep tissue massage therapist) for an advice. She looked at me and my chair, and the desk and ask me how much time I'm spending on that chair. Eight hours - I said. She looked again and told me that I need a new chair. My boss bought it and 3 weeks later I've got better. At that time my problem was caused by bad posture. Later my left shoulder gave up on me but that's another story.

Evalina, This and that...

Anonymous said...

Meari I'm happy that your massages are working - hoping that you'll be your own self again soon so you can have fun catching up with your housework and yardwork.

Your play sounds like fun - I love seeing comedies and having a good laugh.

Congrats on having found a solution to your bleeding problem and sharing it with us.

Tara

Kay said...

That is good to hear that the pain is easing up for you a bit more. Take care of yourself! Despite it all you are always a busy woman! Your stitching as always is beautiful. Have a good week ahead!

Sunshine said...

So glad you're feeling better! Love the dyed fabric!!!! About organizing....I've been winding ribbon on cardstock all day, thanks to you.....:) LOL

Anonymous said...

Happy to hear that the chiro is helping with your pain.

Glad you got the froggie poop out.

Marl

Julie M said...

Only 60 so far??? Wow, my stash must teeny tiny compared to everyone else. I'd be surprised if I had 60 charts in it.

Good to hear you are somewhat on the mend. Pain is an ugly companion and I am always happy to see it leave! Sadly, it just keeps coming back!

Good job on the frog poop! I'll file that hint for use in the future!

Have a great week!

Bette said...

So glad your pain is easing up. Sounds like your therapist found the tigger point that was causing your pain. Mine was in the front. Was so weird to have him spend so much more time on the muscles on the front than on the back when it was my back and shoulder that were hurting. But it's worked well so far.

Nancy M said...

Seems like Dawn is the cure all. I have been using Pinterest and seriously it is in every cleaning solution there is! I've tried it on the shower doors and it really works get.I'm not buying anymore "cleaners". Good luck with the improving muscle sores. I had a bad disc once and it really effects your life. Plus it makes you feel OLD! That play sounds pretty funny!

Katrien said...

I'm glad you were able to remove the red 'poop'.
I hope the chiro and massage relieve you of the pain!

Pam in IL said...

"Frog Poop" - love the name! As always your stitching is beautiful! I'm particularly drawn to that cute little butterfly with it's stitched trail and the sweet flower it's flying next to.

Glad to hear you had a good night's sleep. That can make all the difference, especially when you get more than one night in a row.

Veronica said...

Thank God the pain is going away. Hope it will be completely gone soon.

Glad to hear you got the frog poop out. LOL! Gotta love that name you gave it. Pretty partridge ornie.

Hehe... Stash fondling is always fun. That's what I just did this past weekend too as you can see from my newest post :P

Hugs,
Veronica.

Anne said...

Well I'm glad you finally got a good night's sleep and that you are on the mend. I'm also happy that you got the poop off! LOL!! I've heard about the Dawn dish soap but doesn't the water bleed into the other threads and cause them to run too? That's what happened with my Tanglewood. The play sounds like it was a hoot to watch!!

Hugs

glenda said...

I'm very glad that three months ago you got a good night's sleep...What will happen next? I'll have to keep reading to get to the end of the story!!

I also have org expressions. I like the simplicity, but it does have problems. I wish there was a better program out there.