Leftover Floss Bits

This question was asked by Lisa, who says it's been bothering her for years!

"When there is so little floss left, what do you do with it? I hate the idea of throwing it away, but what else can be done with it?"


My answer is simple. I loop them through holes punched in cardstock and label it. Then they're put in a ziploc bag, along with a "master list" written on another card. That way I can see at a glance what's in the bag. I use them on small projects such as ornaments and bookmarks. Or, on projects that call for a small amount of a certain color. No wasting here!

T is for Thursday!

Saw this on Myrna's blog, and told her I wanted to play too! She assigned me the letter 'T'.

Here's the 'blurb' and my list:

Comment to this message and I will assign you a letter of the alphabet. Then go to your blog and post a list of 10 words that begin with this letter and what they mean to you.


1. Three – The number of siblings I have been blessed with. Thankfully, we all get along!

2. Teenagers – I have four teenage nieces, three who are 14 and one who is 15. Drivers, get off the road!

3. Tinsel and Tidings – Are you in the Christmas spirit yet? I’ve received about 8 Christmas cards and it’s not even Dec 1st yet! I’m even thinking about putting my tree up this weekend, which is very early for me.

4. Thread – I recently inherited a large amount of thread from a freecycler. Add to that the huge stash I already have. I need a good way to store all those spools in a neat and organized way. Any ideas?

5. Thanksgiving – Did you have a good one? Did you think about things you were grateful for? The weather was so nice, we at our meal on the back porch. Here it is a week later and a major snow store is headed our way!

6. Turkey Chicken Noodle Soup – I used the last little bit of my turkey the other night. I boiled the bird and made the most scrumptious turkey/chicken noodle dumpling soup. It was my own concoction made from things in my fridge. Did you know you could make dumplings out of refrigerated biscuits?

7. Time – Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping into the future… LOL, am I showing my age? Actually that song was *before* my time. Time gets away from us, doesn’t it? Take time to enjoy the here and now, before it’s gone. Got your Christmas shopping done?

8. Tiny – That’s the size of my little dog. She’s a 4¼ lb. Pomeranian who thinks she’s a big guard dog. When she’s outside on her cable, she’ll vigilantly stand “guard” and bark at anything that isn’t suppose to be there. Problem is, she thinks anything within her sight is her domain! On the flip side, she’s the most entertaining bundle of energy you’d ever see.

9. Trash – Twice now I’ve tried to put a piece of wood out for the trash guys to pick up. It started out as a 2x6, about 4ft long. I thought they didn’t take it the first time because it was too long, so I cut it into about 10” sections. They *still* didn’t take it. Well hmfph. They’ll be taking it next week! I’m putting pieces in my household trash bag. If it takes me 3 weeks, they *are* going to take it.

10. Ten – 10 more days until this semester of college is done. It has gone by fast, and much to my surprise I actually like the Ecology class and am doing very well.

SBQ - Waste Knot, Want Knot

How do you secure your thread when you begin a new one? Specifically,do you or have you ever used a waste knot?

I have never used a waste knot. I'd never even heard of it until this past year. In looking at the diagrams, it seems like a waste of thread to me. I use as much as possible without "waste"-ing any. LOL If I'm using an even number of strands, I use the loop method, otherwise I just catch the "tail" within a few stitches on the the backside. It's how I learned to do it. Never knots. Knots bad.

How Cool Is This?!!

These are projects I've done so far in 2006:

Whew! Finally....

I finally got through looking at everyone's blogs and leaving comments. You all have inspiring blogs. I love looking at all the projects and hearing about everyone's trials and tribulations, as well as their celebrations in life.

I would like to thank those who are leaving comments on my blog. I really enjoy them! Last week, my 14yr old niece started her first blog (after she'd seen mine). For those of you who took time to look at it, and comment - You really made a teenager's day! It really made her happy to see that people were visiting and leaving comments. Thanks for taking time to do that. I appreciate it.

See-Saw of a Day

My day was going along peachy-keen, 'til I came home for lunch. I thought I'd grab a quick turkey sandwich. While trying to slice some meat off the bird, I attempted to also slice some meat off my finger! Quite a nice slice, I might add. I clamped down on it and ran upstairs to get a band-aid. Ever try to open a band-aid while holding onto a bleeding finger? Let me tell you... It's not an easy feat!! Yes. Yes. I *know* what you all are thinking! Stumbling over twigs and falling - Fall up and down the stairs - Now cutting my finger. Just put me in a padded room with nothing I can hurt myself on. Wait! Am I allowed to have needles and scissors??

OK, so fast forward to class. I got my 3rd test back. I got a 91%!!! Woo Hoo! After taking it last week, I wasn't so confident that I did very good. The answers must've been in my subconscious, cuz I certainly didn't think I *knew* them.

So then I get home tonight. No internet. In fact, I haven't had internet since lunchtime. So I call the ISP. THREE times! I got hung up on twice. While on hold the 3rd time waiting for a "live" person, the ISP was beeping in. At least I was hoping that's who it was when I answered the call. I complained about the long waiting time (over an hour total), and the fact I'd been hung up on twice. After she got me up and running, she says to me: "Well if it makes you feel any better, I haven't had any dinner and I don't get off until 10pm. I complain about my phone service and no one does anything." I won't tell you what was going through my mind...

In my mail today, came a RAK from Dawn B in TX. She'd been looking through my albums and saw that I had the Prairie Schooler Pins & Needles chart on my Wish List. She had it and sent it to me. Wasn't she just a sweetheart? Thank you, Dawn! It made my day.

Car & Neck Updates

Car Update
I took the car to a mechanic to have it checked out. Alternator – Good. Starter – Good. Battery – Good. He *thinks* possibly the trunk may have been left open which caused the battery to drain down. There’s a sensor in the trunk that’s supposed to let me know it’s open. The trunk could’ve been closed enough to latch and not set off the sensor, but not closed enough to shut off the light in the trunk which would drain the battery. While I am relieved to know nothing is wrong with the car, I am paranoid that the trunk isn’t closed.

Neck Update #3
I’m still going to the chiropractor for my neck. Wed night’s visit did wonders. Within a couple hours, I was finally able tip my head to the right with very little pain. Day by day it’s getting better. I am still doing the ice/heat therapy at home, as well as exercises to build up the muscle strength. I have another appointment tomorrow.

Freedom Grounded - Houston, We Have Problems...

*sigh* I was all excited about being able to frame up Freedom this weekend. After all, I’d gotten the mat boards, the glass, and the frame. All I needed to do was lace the project, cut the mats, clean the glass, and put it all together. Easy enough, right? Wrong. I’ve determined that it needs to be triple matted due to the thickness of the button embellishments. I *thought* I had black mat board, so I didn’t buy any. Nope, no black. Darn it! So, I say to myself: “Self, just cut the blue and red mats.” I cut the blue mat. It goes pretty smoothly. I cut the red mat opening and 1/8” larger – It wasn’t enough. Didn’t like how it looked. So, I try again... this time ¼” larger opening. I think it would’ve looked fine had I not had problems with the mat cutter. Looks like Papermites (termites that eat paper... LOL) have chewed up half of one inside edge! I have enough red mat board to try ONE more time. I think I’ll put in a fresh new blade. Needless to say, Freedom is still not framed!

Ascot Albert

Seven down, 3 more to go! I really didn't think I'd be completing my challenge so quickly. This ornament was a kit by Sugarplum Express. It's stitched on 14ct white plastic canvas with DMC threads. I started it last year and only worked on it when I went places where I'd be "waiting". I finally decided to just finish it. Without further adieu... Ascot Albert:




Projects Completed so far:
1. Therapy Bookmark
2. Cardinal Snowflake Ornament
3. Freedom
4. Yummy Gingerbread Man
5. Santa Ornament
6. Gingerbread House

Happy Thanksgiving

I had a pretty quiet Thanksgiving. My sister and niece came over. I made Roasted Turkey & Dressing, Jamaican Grilled Sweet Potatoes, Grilled Portabella Mushrooms, Stir-Fried Udon. It all turned out quite delicious, if I do say so myself! My sister worked on her afghan, my niece worked on her scrapbook, and I worked on cross stitch. We did work on my niece's quilt, too.

After a day and a half, my niece was complaining about having to eat turkey leftovers. I told her that's what people do on Thanksgiving. I made Turkey Pot Pie yesterday, and she devoured it! I asked her if it was good. LOL

Enroute to Australia

One of my blogger buddies offered to participate in an ornament exchange with me. Wasn't that nice of her? I actually stitched this ornament up on 10/22/06, but couldn't show it until now. After all, I wanted Tessa in Australia to be surprised.


This ornament is called Cardinal Snowflake. It was designed by Thea Dueck. I changed the design a bit and added Mill Hill Beads. It's stitched on 28ct seafoam green linen with DMC floss, #8 perle cotton, and Kreinik #4 braid. I made the cording myself with DMC B5200. I thought it turned out pretty good for my first time making an ornament out of linen. There's a few flaws, but that's what makes it unique, right? Right! In my opinion, these photos don't do it justice. It's the best I could come up with.








I re-created the snowflake design on the back and put my name, country and year in the center. The frog came out a couple times before I got it right.

This is the 2nd project completed that goes toward my Project Challenge:

1. Therapy Bookmark

I'm 27% Stupid

I stole this from my niece's blog. At my age, I thought 27% was pretty darn good!


1. [X] I have walked into a glass/screen door.

2. [ ] I have tripped on my shoelace and fallen.

3. [X] I have choked on my own spit.

4. [X] I've seen the Matrix a bunch of times and still don't get it.

5. [ ] I type only with my pointer fingers.

6. [X] I have caught something on fire.

7. [ ] I've told a cop to buzz off and gotten screwed for it.

8. [ ] I have attempted to sip out of a straw but it accidently went into
my nose, rather than my mouth.

9. [ ] I have thought of something funny that happened yesterday, and
laughed out loud and people looked at me weird.

10. [X] I've caught myself drooling.

11. [ ] I've accidentally caused an explosion.

12. [ ] If someone says the word "fart", I can't help but laugh.

13. [ ] I've been into a "Do Not Enter" one way road plenty of times.

14. [ ] Sometimes I just...stop thinking, & zone out.

15. [ ] Is it POSSIBLE to lick your elbow?

16. [ ] I just tryed to lick my elbow.

17. [ ] People often shake their heads and walk away from me.

18. [ ] People often tell me to use my "inside voice"

19. [ ] Gum has fallen out of my mouth while talking.

20. [ ] I use my fingers to do simple math.

21. [X] I've jumped off a moving bicycle.

22. [ ] I ate a bug for $5 or less.

23. [X] I'm taking this test when I should be doing something more
important.

24. [ ] I repost chain letters because I'm scared of what they threaten
will happen if I don't.

25. [ ] I've removed my pants when I was with friends.

26. [ ] I've ran around naked when I was with friends.

27. [ ] I've searched all over the place for something, and then realized
it was in my hand the whole time.

28. [ ] I break a lot of things.

29. [ ] My friends know not to use big words on me.

30. [ ] I put my head to the side when I'm confused.

31. [X] Sometimes I start telling a story and suddenly forget what I'm
talking about.

32. [X] I've fallen out of my chair before.

33. [ ] When I'm laying in bed, I sometimes stare at the ceiling and try to
find pictures and words in the texture.


Tally up your number of x's. MULTIPLY THAT NUMBER BY 3 TO GET YOUR PERCENTAGE. Repost this as "I am __% stupid”.

Gingerbread House Ornament

Here's #6 toward my Challenge Project. It's stitched on 14ct red aida with DMC floss and #032 Kreinik Blending Filament. The photo doesn't show it well, but the BF makes the white snow all glittery. The pattern came from the Leisure Arts book called 250 Christmas Quickies. It took me about 8 hours to stitch it up. The cording is handmade from DMC floss 3865 and 304.

Projects Completed so far:
1. Therapy Bookmark
2. Cardinal Snowflake Ornament
3. Freedom
4. Yummy Gingerbread Man Ornament
5. Santa Ornament

Neck Update #2

I’m sure you’ve seen the cartoon with the cat standing there minding his own business. Then the dog sneaks up behind the cat and barks. Next thing you know the cat has its claws sunk into the ceiling, hanging upside down, holding on for dear life!

I had another appointment with the chiropractor Monday. Ice and electro-therapy first to loosen up the muscles. Ahh… Felt great. Adjustments to my spine went fairly well. Time to turn over for the neck adjustment. It went fairly well until he started feeling up the right side of my neck. It all happened so fast! He pressed on THAT spot and I about flew off the table and hit the ceiling… just like the cat! I must’ve scared the doc cuz he jumped back with his hands in the air. Breathing heavily and tears filling my eyes, I apologized. He said there’s still a knot of muscles on the side of my neck, but everything moved much better than on Sat. I have another appointment tonight.

I can almost turn my head all the way to the right, but I still can’t tip my head very far to the right. Try as I might, I can’t get it there. Continued heat/cold therapy at home and I’m suppose to rest as much as possible. I had a hard time doing my hair this morning before work.

Mutterings, Movies & Madness 11/20/06

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... and you think ... ?

Teacher :: School
Fifty :: Dollars
Crossword :: Puzzle
Stuffed :: Turkey
Family :: Friends
Purr :: Kitty
Toad :: Warts
Cocktail :: Fruit
Insecurity :: Bad
Magical :: Happy

More Mutterings



Movies Watched

The Grapes of Wrath with Henry Fonda -- Young, young Henry Fonda. I remember him as being OLD. Needless to say this movie is very old, and it's black & white. It's nowhere near as good as the book. If I hadn't read the book first, I'd have had a hard time following the movie.

Hotel Rwanda with Don Cheadle & Nick Nolte -- So, so movie. It's based on a true story and was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2005.

Undertow with Josh Lucas and Dermot Mulroeny -- Kinda of a strange movie. It's suppose to be a thriller, but I didn't think it was all that thrilling. Rage, envy, greed, and secrets of a lower class family in Georgia weave the plot.

The Edge with Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin -- Great movie! Human fear, survival, treachery, betrayal and murder rear up throughout the movie as the characters are forced to survive in the wilderness.



Monday Madness

1. In order to protect my computer from viruses, I use AVG.
2. I also use SPYWARE BLASTER for protection from spyware.
3. I don't spend nearly enough time CLEANING.
4. The first person I usually talk to in the morning is BEN.
5. It takes me about AN HOUR to get ready in the morning.
6. I keep all my appointments in/on DAY PLANNER.
7. It takes me about 15 MINUTES to fall asleep at night.

More Madness

Neck Update

My sister is such a dear. When I told her what had happened, she said: "Why didn't you call me?" I just LOL'd and asked her what she thought she'd do for me at 6am. (Moral support?) Besides, I wasn't bleeding and nothing was broken and I didn't think she'd appreciate a phone call at 6am. But it's the thought that counts, right?

Yesterday, my visit to the chiropracter proved to be very painful!! He tried to do an adjustment but it was so painful that he had me do ice and electro-therapy first. Do you think my foot flinging up into the air when he tried to do an adjustment had something to do with his wanting the therapy first? We tried it a second time and it was so painful it brought tears to my eyes! Breathing heavy, tears rolling out of my eyes, it was all I could do to keep from outright sobbing.

I managed to do something to the muscles in my neck. The combination of the two falls has caused the muscles to spasm so much that they are "gripping" my neck and upper back vertebrae and not allowing them to move. I can't tip my head to the right, and yesterday I couldn't turn to the right very far. I go back to the chiro again on Monday afternoon. Meantime, I am to put ice on it, alternated with hot shower focused on my neck. I did that twice yesterday.

The chiropracter told me to take it easy over the weekend. What?! I had a ton of things I wanted to get done: ebay packages need to be mailed, shopping for Freedom framing materials, house cleaning, notes for class need to be typed up, and have to go into work.

I did go shopping, but my neck was killing me by the time I got home. The rest of the day was shot as far as doing anything.

Today, I can turn a bit better but still can't tip my head to the right. I have to go into work for a few hours, so I hope that goes OK.

Pain In The Neck

Three days ago I fell UP the stairs and slammed my hand/wrist into the landing. My wrist hurt a little and I didn't give it much thought. After all my name is "Grace".. LOL

Yesterday, I woke up and the side of my neck hurt, like I'd slept on it wrong. As the day went on, it didn't get better. Not even after taking an Aleve. By evening, the base of my neck was all tensed up. I put some ice on it and went to bed.

I woke up this morning, feeling better. Only a little pain on the side of my neck. As I was walking down the stairs at 6am, my foot slipped and I fell down the last three, landing on my rear end!

I felt my spine jam up to my skull and the pain on the side of my neck was excrutiating! I fell forward and just stayed there for about 5 minutes, all bunched up, breathing heavily, waiting for the pain to subside. My head felt like 20 lbs on top of my shoulders! I managed to get up, and was a bit lightheaded! Since it was 6am, I couldn't call the chiro office. So, I took some ibuprofen and got an ice pack.

I can't even tip my head toward my right side. I do have a chiro appt... Hopefully, it will help.

Crockpot Vegetable Beef Soup

Yum! This is what I made Friday night.


CROCKPOT VEGETABLE BEEF SOUP

2 med. potatoes, peeled and diced
2 med. carrots, peeled and diced
1 1/2 lb. beef shank or neck bones
1 med. onion, peeled and chopped
1 can whole tomatoes (16 oz), quartered
1 can corn (17 oz), undrained
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp. dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. ground savory
2 tsp. instant beef bouillon
3 c. boiling water

Place the first 7 ingredients in a 3 1/2-quart slow cooker in the order listed. Sprinkle parsley and the next 5 ingredients over the vegetables. Dissolve bouillon in boiling water and pour over spices. Cover and cook on low setting for 8-10 hours. Remove beef shank and bay leaf; recover. Remove meat from bones; cut into bite-size pieces. Return meat to soup; mix. Serves 8 to 10.

Notes:
1. I cooked the neck bones (2) first, discarded the fat and liquid. It was too fatty for my taste. There wasn't much beef, but it didn't deter from the taste.
2. I increased the amount of vegetables and used a 5qt crockpot.
3. I used diced tomatoes, and frozen corn. I added frozen peas.
4. I added extra water to make more broth.
5. At the end of the cooking time, I added a few handfuls of barley and allowed it to cook 1/2 hour more.

Santa Ornament

I finished this ornament on November 12th, but couldn't show it until now. The design came from a book called, "100 Cross Stitch Ornaments" by Carol Siegel & Dimensions Design Studio. It was made for Lynne in Canada as part of the SNS2 ornament exchange. I stitched it over-one on 28ct linen with DMC threads, and finished it off with a string of pearls. It took me about 16 hours to stitch. Didn't it turn out nice?

This is the 5th project completed that goes toward my Project Challenge:

1. Therapy Bookmark
2. Cardinal Snowflake Ornament
3. Freedom
4. Yummy Gingerbread Man Ornament

SBQ - Christmas Ornaments

My goodness... It's been a week since I've updated my blog. I have a bunch to catch up on, but for now I'll start with the SBQ:

Do you stitch Christmas ornaments? If so, how many do you stitch each year and for whom? If not, why not?

Yes, I stitch ornaments! In the past 30 days, I’ve stitched 3 ornaments and am working on the fourth! I’ll be showing them in the next few weeks after the recipients get them. I have one going to Australia, one to Canada, and two to US addresses. After that, it’s stitching for me! I am tempted to do some of those ornaments over for myself!

Spry at 89?!

I met the most spry 89 year old woman today. A coworker invited 3 of us to a chili fundraiser put on by the assisted living facility where her mother lives. Mostly, it’s family members of the residents who go. Today, we were her extended family. Helen was all smiles, happy to meet us, and have lunch with us. She’s a tiny little thing, only about 4 ft. tall, if that. I’ve listened to my coworker talk about her mom ever since they moved her from rural South Dakota a year or so ago. I’d never have guessed she was 89 by the amount of energy and the sense of humor she has. When we left, she gave us all hugs and patted us on the cheek. LOL, it’s something I’ve only seen on TV. You could tell it meant a lot to her that she had people come to her luncheon. After we got back to the office, my coworker thanked us for coming… and I could tell it meant a lot to her also, that we went. Giving of yourself when you don’t have to...

SBQ - Floss Collections

How many different brands of "complete" embroidery floss sets do you own? How do you keep track of it? (i.e., spread sheet program, index cards, palm pilot, etc.)

The only "complete" set of floss I have is DMC. I probably have 2-3 complete sets! However, I do have an almost complete set of SSS. I also have some VC silks, Kreiniks, GAST, Dragon, and others I can't think of right now.

I have a software program called “Stash Magic” that I started putting my floss and fabrics into, but I don’t really like how it works. I’m thinking about trying Organized Expressions instead.

Set of Firsts

First project. First design. First sampler.

Karen P wrote: Do you remember the first thing you ever cross stitched? Can you tell us what it was? Also, was it stamped or counted?

I come from a family of somewhat ‘crafty’ people. Both my father and grandfather were woodworkers. My grandmother crocheted, knitted, and did ceramics. My mother crocheted and sewed. Hence, I have done all of those things and more over the course of my life.

My first cross stitched piece was a birth sampler I designed and stitched for myself. So obviously, it was counted and not stamped. I was in my early teens. I had seen some motifs in an old magazine my mother had – Woman’s Day or Family Circle, something like that. I had found an old piece of knit basketweave-type fabric and a tangled up mess of embroidery floss in my mother’s sewing box. I untangled the floss and set forth on my journey to create a masterpiece.

This is what I came up with:



It's about 5½x7" in size. Not bad for being my first try and self-taught. Sadly, I didn’t know anything about washing it and keeping it clean all those years ago. It’s rather stained and dirty now.

Faith Restored

Sadly, most people in the world are “too busy” (too selfish) to go out of their way to help out another fellow human being, especially a stranger. For me, it's really disheartening because I more often than not will go out of my way to help someone in need.

As you know from my previous post, my boss pulled over at the side of the street when he saw me walking to work and offered me a ride. At lunch time, he offered me another ride if I needed one. At the end of the day after finding out I was without a car, another coworker offered me her vehicle. She thought her DH was coming into town, but he ended up not so it didn’t work out. But it was the thought that counts! That gesture alone has changed my perspective about her. A third coworker offered to deliver my client work and then drop me off at the college which was a little out of her way. Before class, I asked if anyone drove home near where I lived. A girl who lived out of town offered to take me home. I barely know this girl, and she offered a ride – and said even if she didn’t go that way, she’d still give me a ride home! This morning, the same coworker who drove me to the college gave me a ride to work.

I have to say that my faith in people has been somewhat restored. In my time of need yesterday, several people stepped up to help me when I needed it. Perhaps it was my turn to ‘cash in’ on all my pay-it-forwards.

To all who have helped me: A big THANK YOU!

!%@$*& ---> Car

Once again... My car would not start this morning! I had to walk to work this morning. It wasn’t so bad walking through a fine mist of rain. The kind of rain you can’t really see and you don’t really get “wet”, but it’s still there. Actually, I got about ½ way to work and one of my bosses pulled up and asked me if I needed a ride. Wasn’t that nice?

Timing this time really stinks. I have class tonight and am scrambling to find a ride. If it doesn’t rain, I’ll probably end up walking. Only about 3 miles each way, I think. LOL I might take a cab, I don’t know.

Ironically, I was *just* talking to my brother yesterday about the car turning over “funny”. And what happens today?

Two weeks ago, I finally got the exhaust fixed at the bargain basement price of $125! Now this. Hmph!

More about my car troubles:
• Priceless
• What's A Resonator?
• Another Battery
• Battery
• Happy New Year

Unconscious Mutterings 10/6/06

I say ... and you think ... ?

Theft :: Jail
Storage :: Junk
Pick :: Nose
Los Angeles :: California
The one :: Love
Accent :: Language
Rivalry :: Enemy
Process :: Red Tape
Streets :: Dirty
Museum :: Culture

Unconscious Mutterings

What Do You Get When...

...you put together 40 accountants, 12 bottles of wine, and representatives from state and federal agencies?

A good excuse for birth control.


LOL, seriously now. I attended the annual state tax seminar along with about 40 accountants. Representatives from the Dept of Revenue, Dept of Employment Security, Dept of Labor, and Social Security Administration were speakers at this hoppin’ shin-dig. Even though I always learn something new, I’m grateful that some of the speakers have a dynamic way about the way they present. Keeps one from falling asleep! As for the bottles of wine… Yes, there was wine. Every year the association gives out 12 bottles of wine as door prizes. I actually won one this year, as did a coworker. What I couldn’t figure out is: The bottles say CA wine, but in small print they say “made in Chicago.” LOL Figure that one out!

I Am Cursed

Thinking I'd be quite efficient before class, I first went to Admissions to pick up the spring schedule. Then I went to the library to get a newer Writing Style Guide, since the one I had is from 1992. With the advent of the internet (Thanks Al Gore!), I'm sure a few things have changed in the guide.

Proud of my accomplishments, I walked from Bldg M to Bldg N (Yes, they are actually named that.) I knew it wasn't going to be a pretty sight when I felt my shoe roll off a twig and my ankle twisted. Down like a rock I went, my left knee slamming into the cold, hard concrete. Recovering quickly *look around to see who saw me* and what is the first thing I see? A LARGE study group just inside the door of the building I'm going into! Not a one of them had a horrified look on their face, or were looking at me... So I'm guessing either they didn't see my graceful fall, or they didn't give a flip.

After dropping my backpack off at the classroom, I headed to the restroom to survey the damage. Dang, it burned! Much to my dismay, I had once again ruined another pair of work slacks. There was a 3½" tear in the knee of my black cords. Wincing, I looked beneath the shredded fabric. Yup... Did a number. Anyone get the number of that truck? I had an abrasion a bit smaller than the size of a quarter... no bandages, no way to clean it up properly. Maybe I should start carrying a first aid kit in my backpack. I have everything else in there!

I am cursed with clumsiness. I've been this way since I was a child. At 80, I will still be this way. With my luck, at that age I'd probably fall and break a kneecap! *sigh*