RAK'd Again!

In today's mail, I received two leaflets from Debra in GA. I had commented that I liked oriental designs, and she sent me two leaflets!

Both were by Serendipidy Designs:
Orientals
Far East

Thank you, Debra!

Monday Madness 10/30/06

1. Small town or big city? Small town

2. Do you have a favorite childhood memory, and if so, would you share it? Playing “house” with my brothers/sister; Teaching my two youngest siblings how to hit a baseball; Teaching my sister to color inside the lines and how to make doll clothes

3. How do you calm down when something has really upset and/or angered you? Do you swallow it? Call a friend and rant? Go in the bathroom and cry? Punch a wall? Walk around muttering to yourself, complete with scary hand gestures? When I am frustrated/hurt, I cry. When I am angry, I silently fume.

4. What attratcs you to memes? It makes one think about things you might not otherwise think about.

5. How reliant are you on computers to get through your day? Very reliant. My job depends on them. I’ve had a computer at home since I was 18 and doubt I could get through the day without using it!

6. In a crisis, are you calm or do you panic? Calm.

Monday Madness

Freedom is Finished!

Stitchy Stuff
With almost 200 hours of stitching time, Freedom is finally finished! I stayed up until well after midnight on Friday night to finish it. It’s now washed and pressed, waiting to be framed. (This counts as #3 for my Project Challenge.) As luck would have it, Hobby Lobby is having a 50% off sale on frames this week. I may check out Michael’s too. For those who want to see the finished product, I won’t be posting a pic until after it’s framed. So you’ll just have to wait a bit longer!!

I started an ornament for an exchange I’m in. I’m stitching it over-one and have had to frog it a couple of times already. I find it’s easier to just cut the stitches out than to try and unpick them. It’s a strain on the eyes to do over-one, that’s for sure! I also worked on the Treasured Memories Quilt afghan.

Cooking
Over the weekend, I tried two more new recipes: Crockpot Southwestern Chili and Jambalaya Kebobs. Due to the ingredients I had, I changed the chili recipe so much that I’m not sure it’d be considered ‘southwestern’ anymore. LOL It turned out good, though. The kebobs turned out awesome, too! They were done on the grill.


JAMBALAYA SAUSAGE KEBOBS & RICE

2 small zucchini (about 6oz ea), cut diagonally into ¾” slices
1 red pepper, cut into 1¼” pieces
½ small onion, cut into 4 wedges
4 tsp. olive oil
2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
1 pkg. (16oz) kielbasa or cooked smoked sausage, cut diagonally into 1” chunks
1 large celery, chopped
2 c. cooked white rice
1 med. tomato, chopped
2 tbsp. water
Wood skewers

Soak skewers in water overnight. In large bowl, toss zucchini, pepper, onion, 3 tsp. olive oil, and 1 tsp. Cajun seasoning. Alternately thread vegetables on skewer. Place skewers on hot grill and cook 10-12 minutes until kielbasa browns and vegetables are tender crisp, turning skewers occasionally. Remove skewers from grill and put on platter.

In skillet, heat 1 tsp. olive oil over medium heat. Add celery and 1 tsp. Cajun seasoning. Cook, covered, for 5 minutes or until celery softens, stirring occasionally. Stir in rice, tomato, and water. Cook 3 more minutes, or until everything is blended and hot. Serve rice with kebobs.

School
One of my group members was suppose to have the report outline to me last Wed. She came to class and said she'd email it to me by Friday. Friday comes and goes... No email. Saturday afternoon arrives and I finally get the email. I opened the attachment and what do I see? Garbage! You know... all those funky squares and odd characters... where there's suppose to be decipherable wording? Thank goodness she put her phone number in the email! I called right away. She re-sent it using a different file extension, plus copied and pasted it into the email (at my request). I spent a good 2 1/2 hours on Sunday writing the lab report on Prairie Diversity. I have a couple of questions for the instructor before the final copy can be printed.

Movies Watched
• Spanglish
• Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

2 Tests Down, 2 To Go

There is a woman who sits to the left of me in Ecology class. Picture this woman feverishly taking notes while the instructor is lecturing... writing down everything, and I mean everything he says. And everything he writes on the blackboard. Also picture this woman making note cards to study from. Really, there is nothing wrong with note cards, if they help. Now that you have this image in your mind... Know, too, that this same woman obsessed for at least a week over taking the first test. OK, so we take the first test and she gets her score back – she was VERY disappointed that she got a “C”. Fast forward to tonight when we got our second test scores back. She got hers before I got mine. I didn’t see her score, but after she lifted the edge of the paper to look underneath to see what she got, she did this little happy dance with her upper body and hands. So I thought to myself: She must’ve gotten an “A”. That was not the case. Later, I saw she got a “B” and barely one, at that. She was the last one to finish the exam, too. LOL People are funny.

That brings me to my score. Drum roll please... I got an “A”!! What really amazes me is that the questions I really had trouble with were the ones I got right. Go figure! The instructor tells us that the night class (meaning us) does so much better than his other classes. One of my classmates says that's because most of us work jobs and we take school seriously, unlike the "Daywalkers". So that’s 2 tests down, and 2 more to go.

My group also got our Aquatic Biodiversity lab report back. The instructor had them for 3 weeks before giving them back to us! My heart sunk to the floor when I saw all the red on every page! Apparently, this instructor likes to leave comments – and lots of them. When it was all said and done, we got an “A” on it, too! Talk about relief. All the students were becoming worried because we have another report due next week and the instructor said he’d get the first ones back so we could see what we did wrong.

I’m waiting for an outline from my other group members so I can write the next lab report. Prairie Diversity, here I come...

Stashy Day

A trip to the post office and what do I spy? A big package from my secret sister! Woo Hoo... a stash fix. It's tough, you know, being on a stash diet due to the Project Challenge! So I take solace where I can...



In today's package was:
• 3 charts: Good Yule by Shepherds Bush, Feather Tree Friends by Schoolroom Samplings, and Christmas Roses I by Mary Beale
• a mini note pad/pen and magnetic list pad featuring Santa and Holly
• sleigh bells decoration (nice sounding bells!)
• a lavender journal featuring what else but Lavender!
• 2 skeins of SSS floss from my wish list (Mocha & Rhubarb)

I think there was a theme to this package, don't you?? Sleigh bells ring, are you listening... In the lane, snow is glistening... And you know what else? She's very sneaky -- She puts MY address on the return address part of the envelope! Thank you, Secret Sister. Thank you.

Eagles & Frogs Don't Mix

Last night, I finished all the backstitching on the flag and eagle of Freedom. Woo Hoo! I also managed to get two lines of the poem done. Much to my dismay, the frog reared it's ugly head -- The chart called for 2 strands of blending filament and 1 strand of floss in an "old gold" color. I stitched part of the poem title and it looked horrible! Rip-It, Rip-It! So then I tried using just the gold floss -- just as bad! Rip-It, Rip-It! Finally I decided to use one of the blues from the flag. She scores! I'm going to do the soldier's info in that same blue color.

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

The Good
I tried two new recipes over the weekend. Both recipes turned out really good, especially the chicken.


CROCKPOT CORNISH HENS WITH POTATOES

4 Cornish game hens (20 oz each)
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
4 large red potatoes, cut into 1/8-inch slices
4 bacon strips, cut into 1-inch pieces
Lemon-pepper seasoning and garlic powder to taste
Minced fresh parsley

In a large skillet, brown hens in oil. Place the potatoes in a 5-qt. slow cooker. Top with the hens and bacon. Sprinkle with lemon-pepper and garlic powder. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat juices run clear and potatoes tender. Thicken the cooking juices if desired. Sprinkle the hens with parsley. Yield: 4 servings.

Notes: I made a few changes to this recipe. 1) I used 2 hens because only 2 would fit in my 5qt crockpot. I didn't brown them ahead of time, thus omitting the oil. 2) I put fresh cloves of garlic in the bird cavities. 3) I used white potatoes. 4) I sprinkled dried parsley on top of everything before cooking. 5) I added fresh carrots.


CARIBBEAN JERK CHICKEN

1 pkt. dry Italian dressing mix
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. oil
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. red pepper
2 1/2 lbs. whole chicken

Mix all ingredients except chicken in small bowl until well blended. Coat chicken with dressing mixture. Place in large baking dish; cover. Refrigerate 1 hour or longer to marinate. Grill or broil 40-45 minutes or until cooked through, turning frequently. Or, bake in oven at 350°F for about 45, then setting the oven to broil to crisp the skin. Serves 6.

Notes: 1) I put the marinade in a plastic ziploc bag and marinated the chicken overnight. It's easier to toss the marinade, and easier to clean up. 2) I marinated two chicken breasts and only grilled them for about 15 minutes. You don't want to over-cook breasts, otherwise they turn out very dry!


If you like Caribbean Jerk seasoning, you might like this:

CARIBBEAN STYLE JERK RUB

1 tbsp. onion powder
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. dried thyme, crushed
1½ tsp. allspice
1½ tsp. salt 1 tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground cloves
¼ tsp. ground red pepper

Combine all ingredients. Makes enough for about 2 lbs. of meat. Seal unused portion in an airtight container. Use on pork ribs grilled over indirect heat. Use with dark meat portions of chicken and turkey.

Notes: I've used this on chicken and pork. It's really good.


More Good
I finished up an ornament for an exchange I’m in with a blogger buddy. It was my first time using linen on an ornament. It wasn’t perfect, but it turned out pretty good. So that’s #2 for my Project Challenge. I'm still working on backstitching the eagle and flag of Freedom. I am *this* close to being done. Then I'll be working on the poem and the soldier's info. That part should go fast.


The Bad
It was chilly and rainy all weekend. Yesterday the winds were brutally cold. Winter's setting in and the forecasters are saying we might not get Indian Summer.


The Ugly
I had a very aggravating experience on Friday night. After months of waiting, I finally got a call from Hobby Lobby that the green package of DMC Color Variations was in and that I’d be getting it at the rain check price of 50% off. The store called me 2 weeks ago, so I thought I’d better go over and get it. I drove over 30mi each way. When I got there, the clerk told me the warehouse sent the red package instead of green. When I commented that she could’ve called me and told me, know what her response was? “Well, we’ve been busy.” OK, that was enough to set my tea kettle steaming! I told her that I drove over 30mi for that and I had a busy life too. I was none to quiet about it either. I don’t even want to imagine what the customer standing next to me thought. Sorry, but I think it’s ridiculous that in two weeks time they couldn’t pick up the phone and let their customers know the wrong item had come in, especially when they had my name and address to see I was from out of town. That reminds me... I have to make a complaint to Hobby Lobby corporate...

Monday Madness 10/23/06

1. Dramas or comedies? Both.

2. Your neighbor has frequent noisy parties on nights before you need to get up early. Do you confront him directly, call the police, call your landlord, join in the debauchery, or seethe quietly and do nothing?

LOL, well if anyone’s been following my blog… They’d know the problems I have with my neighbors. If they EVER have noisy parties, you can count on my calling the police AND notifying my landlord. It’s bad enough they sound like a heard of elephants whenever they go up and down the stairs.

3. Are you more comfortable in big crowds or small groups? Both.

4. Do you prefer Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox? I’ve only ever used IE.

5. They say you learn something new every day. What new thing did you learn today?

The day is just beginning, so I haven’t learned anything yet.

Winding Bobbins

I've been winding bobbins since I started stitching. I find it keeps the floss neat and tidy in a compact spot. It's easy to pull the colors I need and put them back when I'm done. A while back, a stitcher in one of my groups asked how to wind bobbins so I took pics as a general guide in how to do it. So here's what I came up with:

I've probably got at least two, if not 3 entire sets of DMC floss wound on bobbins in 11 floss cases. Any excess floss I have is stored in a clear plastic storage container, waiting to be put on bobbins when necessary.

Who Needs Therapy?

Shhh... I do, but don't tell anyone!




Here's my first project toward THE challenge. It's a bookmark stitched on a 14ct white aida bookmark with a crocheted edge. The photo really doesn't do it justice with the Glissen Gloss Colorwash Japanese silk floss and DMC floss. Colorwash silk is really nice to work with! The design came from the Oct '06 issue of Stoney Creek magazine. One down, 9 more to go...

Those Pesky Confetti Stitches

We all just love those confetti stitches, don't we? You know the ones. The ones that might as well be out in timbuktu. The ones where you shouldn't carry the threads on the backside for fear of showing through. I thought I'd pass on my tip for stitching confetti stitches:

Method 1
When working with an even number of floss stands, anchor the floss using the "loop method". Make the cross stitch and then secure the floss by running it under this stitch several times on the back.

Method 2
When using a single strand, thread your needle with a single strand of floss. Stitch the first half of the cross stitch ( / ) leaving a tail on the backside of the work, stitch the first half again ( / ) - giving the look of two strands of floss. Then stitch the second half of the cross stitch ( \ ) twice and thread the tail under the stitch on the backside.

If I Only Had More Time

This week's Monday Madness asked:

Name 10 things you would do if you had more time.

1. Travel the US and the world.
2. Completely organize and declutter my house.
3. Finish my college education.
4. Get to know my extended family.
5. Get more involved with the community.
6. Do more charity work.
7. Be a “Big Sister”.
8. Exercise more.
9. Spend more time on my hobbies/interests.
10. Learn to cook Japanese food.

I'm Holding Out

Really, I am. I’m holding out on turning on the heat as long as I can. Since I still don’t have a TV in my living room, I spend all my free time in my bedroom where the little TV is. I finally put the electric blanket on my bed last night... Mmmmm. After searching my house 3 times (That’s 3 trips to the basement, 3 trips walking around the house, and 3 trips looking in the attic.), I finally found the oscillating space heater I’d bought last winter. By the time I found it, I was grumbling to myself and internally yelling “How can YOU lose a heater that is 3ft tall?!” Do you know where it was? It was in the place I thought I had put it... and the very first place I looked... the basement! Perhaps it would help if I lifted my eyes a bit higher than the floor where one would think a heater would be sitting. I am thinking that I put it up on top of a table because the basement sometimes gets wet and I didn’t want my investment getting ruined. That’s what I get for thinking ahead! I replaced the fan on my dresser with the narrow oscillating heater (with remote control, mind you!). Fan is now a memory in the attic. Let’s see if I remember where IT is next summer. I was warm & toasty all night long... til I stepped out of my bedroom this morning. Brrr! LOL Hey, at least it’s supposed to warm up by the weekend.

When your coworkers casually mention the car is a bit loud, you don’t think much of it. They’re just jealous anyway. When your father complains about the loud exhaust, you start to contemplate getting it fixed. LOL

Last week, I took it to a shop to get a quote. Tongue in cheek, the mechanic says: "I think it sounds really good. My son would love the sound of this." Yesterday, I took my car in to have the exhaust fixed. Such encouraging news when the mechanic comments to me: “I’ve seen a lot of these and not one of them have ever had a rusted resonator.” The highlight was when I picked my car up, the cost was $25 cheaper than what I was quoted. Can’t beat that! The mechanic also told me that I shouldn’t have anymore problems with my exhaust since the rest of the piping is stainless steel (and it doesn’t rust). This mechanic was recommended to me by a lady at work and this was my first experience with him. I must say that I was impressed that he didn’t try to scam me. Me being a single woman and all. I’m guessing it helped that I was armed with information before I even walked in the door of the shop. My brother told me what was wrong and how it could be fixed. (Thanks bro!) In discussing the problem with the mechanic, I pointed out the problem with the resonator and he basically repeated what my brother said. Plus he offered me a ride to work, and offered to pick me up when my car was done. My car no longer rumbles when I drive down the street. Woo Hoo. Kudos to the mechanic!

Now that the exhaust is fixed, I can get a new TV. I’m one of those that overanalyzes large purchases to death before actually buying anything. I always want to make sure I get a good product for the best price. I’ve already looked at reviews online for various TV’s and visited several stores to see the ones I’m interested in. It’ll be at least a month before I can comfortably fit it in my budget... so no rush.

SBQ - Winter Hands

This SBQ is quite appropriate since it snowed last night. As I write this, I'm being blessed right now with snow, ice pellets and blustery winds! Only flurries they said... only flurries. Uh huh.


As we all know, stitching in the winter can really be rough on the hands. What do you do to treat your hands well in the cold winter months? Do you have any suggestions for creams or soaps? Or perhaps a special regimen that you would like to share?

I never really notice rough hands when I use cotton floss. I do notice when I use silk fibers, though! When stitching with silk, I use Udderly Smooth Udder Cream. Udder cream is a water-based moisturizer that is greaseless and stainless. It’s a light, pleasantly scented hand cream that will keep stitchers' hands soft, smooth and supple for handling all types of fibers. Several LNS and ONS carry it, as well as many drugstores such as Walgreens and CVS.




Udderly Smooth (for US)

Not Just For Cows (for UK)

Touched

The alarm goes off. Three snoozes later, I finally crawl out of bed. Brrrr, it's cold. I'm such a creature of habit. After my usual trip to the bathroom, I manage to work my way down the stairs without tumbling to the bottom. After all, I AM still half asleep. I put the leash on Celeste... who, by the way, is WAY too happy to see me this early in the day! I open the door and what do I see? My car and the ground is covered in snow!! Wait a minute... the forecasters said “possible light flurries”. Old man winter has touched the Midwest with more than just light flurries! No wonder it was so cold when I got out of bed. Celeste, of course, is oblivious to the snow on the ground – she LOVES snow! I am not ready... not ready yet for this snow... for the cold. I don’t even have the electric blanket on my bed yet! The good news is: It’s supposed to warm up by the weekend. 51 degrees is warm? LOL, I guess it’s better than 20 below.

Had I known it was going to snow, snow I would’ve put my car in the garage last night. Since I didn’t, I have to brush the snow off and scrape the ice off the windows. *grumble* *grumble*

Good News

During the week while I'm waiting for class to start, I've been working on a Bucilla brass bookmark with a hummingbird design on it. I actually started it months ago, so it seems like it's taking forever to get done.

I am still plugging away at the backstitching on the flag and eagle of Freedom. Shouldn’t be long before I can start on the poem and the soldier’s info.

A while back I bought a set of 8” qsnaps that were on sale for less then $5. Up until now I hadn’t tried them. I’ve been using them to do the backstitching on Freedom. To be quite honest, I’m not sure what all the fuss is over using them. Pros: easy to use, easy to adjust the tension of the fabric. Cons: bulky, and you have to spend time putting them together/taking them apart. I've heard several stitchers recommend them because they don't leave "hoop marks". Well, no. That's because they're not hoops. However! They do leave what I'll call qsnap marks... lines where the snaps touch the fabric. I wasn’t overly impressed. Will I use them again? Sure. Just another tool in my arsenal to conquer those BAPs and WIPs. Now for the good news...

If you recall, I found out that the mother of the soldier I am stitching for died last month. Due to some legwork by a stitcher on one of the memorial groups, I now have the email address and telephone number of the soldier’s father. Yay! Unfortunately, she misunderstood my post to the group and thought I had the project done and told the stepmother... so now I feel pressured to get it done and soon!

I LOVE Surprises!

When I went to the post office today, I had three... yes THREE packages waiting for me. The first one was from a dear lady in TN named Dee. She had sent me a RAK with threads in fall colors. Aren't they pretty?

The second package was a big white envelope. I knew I was on a stash diet... Yes, remember the 50 Project Challenge?? Whatever could be in that package? When I got home, I opened the big white envelope to find a tiny little note saying: "Enjoy your October package" signed "Your Secret Sister" Awww... Did I ever feel special. Each item in the package was wrapped in tissue paper and sparkly ribbon. What a nice touch! My secret sister has been paying attention to my wishlist, that's for sure. In the package was a chart for Planted Hearts Needle Roll & Scissor Fob by Lavender Wings, 3 skeins of Six Strand Sweets floss that I didn't have (Pumpkin Pie, Guava, Rummed Raisin), a little bookmark kit, a pretty spiral bound notebook (hmmm... good for stash lists?), a package of the most unique 3D handcrafted notecards (These are sooooo cute), and a big box of Skittles. Yum...Skittles!! Thank you secret sister, Thank you!

Lastly, the rest of my order from ABC Stitch Therapy arrived with the supplies I need to do up some of my projects for the challenge. Don't worry.... all this stuff was ordered BEFORE I committed to the challenge.

This girl is doing some happy dancing today. Woo Hoo! I got a stash fix!

As I was uploading pics for this blog entry, I realized I hadn't shared my SSS windfall from last month. The pics are dated 9/19, so I'm guessing I got them shortly before that. You know what they say: Mind is the first to go! (Thank goodness for date stamps.) Anyway, I got 115 skeins of Six Strand Sweets for 32cents a piece. That's almost the whole entire set for less than half of what they normally cost! I was tickled pink, and blue, and orange, and green, and... LOL These too were purchased before "THE" challenge. I really have been a good girl as far as the challenge is concerned.

Oh, if anyone knows of some pretty charts that I can use SSS on... Let me know!

Hump Day Update

Oops! It's not hump day, is it? It's actually Thursday. Silly me, I'm still on yesterday's time.

How much fun do you think it would be to take a field trip into the woods and be the target of unhappy squirrels? Yes, for Ecology class we took a trip to the wooded area on the campus. We saw squirrels jump from limb to limb high up in the canopy of trees. Apparently, they didn’t like us there because for over ½ hour they sat above us and chucked hickory nuts down upon our heads! OK, so the nuts didn’t really hit us but some came pretty darn close. While this was going on, the instructor was lecturing on how forests came to be and different species that can be found in our area. This was AFTER he pointed out a huge patch of poison ivy. Oblivious to the fact it was getting dark, he lectured on and on and on. Granted, I love the woods and I like being outdoors when it’s nice... but to stand there for over an hour listening to lecture almost killed me. Toward the end, I couldn’t even see the lines on my notebook in order to take notes because it was so dark! I was ready to cop a squat on the ground because I was uncomfortable standing for that long of a period without moving.

I handed in our group’s lab report. It really does irk me that one of my group members really didn’t do any work since I had to re-do the charts/graphs because she didn’t follow instructions. Yet she will benefit from whatever grade we’ll get. Grr! On the flipside, she really is a nice lady. Next Mon is Columbus Day, so no school. Woo Hoo!

I have joined the student Ecological Awareness Group, and we received our first email today. It seems our group has a section of Adopt-A-Highway and they want our first “event” to be cleaning up our section of the highway.

I got news today! I went in for my dental cleaning and exam. My dentist has informed me that if I continue to keep up my dental regime, I won’t ever need dentures. LOL... All right!!

Is It Monday Yet?

Appetizers...Maybe not
Never, ever use a microwave to make mozzerella sticks. LOL I thought I'd try it and let me tell ya, it doesn't work so well. :( Unless of course, you like scraping cheese off the plate and enjoy flattened pieces of breading. Breaded mushrooms, no problem. Jalapeno poppers, no problem. Cheese sticks just won't work.


Weekend Thrillers
What a busy weekend it has been! On Saturday, I tried my hand at canning salsa made of green tomatoes. It was the first time I'd ever canned anything. I'm proud to say that 10 out of 10 pints sealed. Woo Hoo. I also cleaned out the garage and re-potted my mums that I bought 3 weeks ago. In one of my pots, a maple tree sprouted so I've been letting it grow all summer. It's about 2 feet tall now and just starting to lose it's leaves. I re-potted it, too.


School
Remember my Ecology test? I found out my score last Wed. I got an 88 - second highest in the class. Soooo close to an A. Here I thought I'd be lucky that I'd get a C. Whew, one test down and three more to go. Today, I spent over three hours writing a lab report on the plankton diversity study we did. It involved taking samples of the scum-filled... err, I mean algae covered ponds and creek on campus as well as samples from the marsh in the classroom. There are three other people in my lab group. Two of them wrote an outline for the report. One of them did the charts and graphs. It was up to me to do a bit of research, fill in the blanks and write up the report. Getting it started was the hard part... so I thought. That is until I took a good look at the charts/graphs a team member did. It was not at all what the instructor told us to do in the handout he gave us to use for writing the lab report. So guess what? I had to re-do the tables and graphs. The four of us are going to go over it tomorrow night. If there are any revisions, I'll make them Tues since it's due on Wed night. We all share whatever grade the instructor gives us.


Freedom Update


Finally... finally... finally!! I have a good portion of the backstitching done on Freedom. I'm up to 174.25 hours. After it's finished, all that needs to be done is the poem, the soldier's information, and the buttons. I can't wait! My apologies, the photo isn't the greatest.